#my dad just didn't care because he had 3 jobs and I don't blame him

[unhonestlymirror]

My mom is a really interesting person. She was like, "Oh yes, you have Belarus blood, but I won't teach you Belarus language, history, and culture because you need to integrate to Ukrainian one... by going to the prorussian and russian speaking Orthodox school because I love to trust random people but not my own kid."

[gardens-light]

Finding Peace

Taking shelter in an abandoned petrol station, tension builds between you and your family. As blame and arguments raise- not like you didn't feel guilty enough already. You didn't ask for this- any of this! You just wanted to help Optimus. And it's not like the Autobot leader didn't have problems of his own. Being hunted down by humans for reasons yet unknown was bad enough- but ignoring the yearning of his Spark has slowly become problematic. Occasionally shaking his helm attempting to get you out of his processors, trying to convince himself that a 'Sparkmate' was nothing but a romancide idea that the younger bots came up with. Or is it?...

Content: Minor coarse language. Event's take part in Transformers- Age of Extinction. (Leading to major spoilers in Part 4.) Optimus x Human F/Reader. Fluff. (Reader insert.)

Sparkmate Series- Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

"Well... on the bright side." Tessa's voice lowly spoke, while sitting upon a dusty bar. Playing with some fairy lights. "You two have finally met.."

"Where's he from?"

"I told you. He's a driver from Texas."

"Texas?" Cade scoffed at Tessa's words. "Where? Dublin, Texas? Shamrock, Texas? So why does he sound like a leprechaun?"

Shane's brows knitted together, as he leaned against the bar. "You'd get your ass kicked in Ireland for saying that."

"Well we're not in Ireland, Lucky Charms. We're in Texas." Cade's attention turned back onto Tessa. "So he drives? What's that supposed to mean? Like he drives for a living?"

"Yeah... at least he makes a living."

Tessa's words caused Cade to fall silent. His eyes flickering up to you, frowning as you tried to avoid him.

"How old are you?" Cade challenged, approaching Shane.

"Twenty."

"And my daughter is seventeen. So as far as I'm concerned, this can go two ways." Cade leaned on the other side of the bar, glaring at Shane. "One, I punch you in the mouth right here, right now. And you call the police on me."

"Dad!-"

"Or two. I just call the cops on you because this is illegal. She's a minor!"

Steady... Steady... your thoughts wandered, while trying to focus on making a 'house of cards' out of beer coasters.

"We're protected by the 'Romeo and Juliet laws'-"

"We dated for a little while." Tessa explained, cutting Shane off. "I was a sophomore, and he was a senior. It's fine."

"We've got a pre-existing juvenile foundational relationship. Statute 2705-3." Shane took out his wallet, showing Cade the small card stating the law. "We're above board."

Cade sighed, "Romeo and Juliet, huh? Do you know how they ended up?"

Just... one more coaster...

"In love-"

"Dead." Cade turned to you. "And you, Y/N?"

Shit...

An unamused expression fell across your features as the coasters came tumbling down.

"Don't look at me like that, young lady. How long have you known about this?"

Cade rubbed his temples as you silently responded with a small shrug. "Well tell me. Days? Weeks?-"

"Months."

"Months...? And you didn't think that I would of wanted to know about this?-"

"Dad. Tessa is a full grown ass adult." You groaned. "She's capable of learning from a mistake or two."

"I trusted you. Both of you-"

"To what?" Tessa butted in. "Never have fun. Take a risk. Be a normal teenager like you?"

"I am your father, okay!" Cade firmly spoke, turning his attention onto Tessa. "And I've been busting my ass to take care of you and your sister!-"

"Oh so is that why I'm busting a gut trying to juggle two jobs?" You scoffed. "And here I thought, I'm the one who took care of this family."

"Is that what you were doing when you continued working on that damn truck?" Tessa spoke to you. A frown forming upon her lips, "all you had to do was report it.-"

"You know I couldn't do that-"

"And now we're forced into hiding. And my life is over! So 'thank you', Sis. You've taken 'real good' care us-"

"None of this would of happened! If you just kept your fucking mouth shut!-"

"Don't talk to your sister like that!" Cade stepped in.

"Sure Dad. Take her side... you always do."

"Y/N-"

"Look! I get it!" you raised onto your feet. "I know I'm 'the disappointment', 'the let down'-"

"Sweetie, I've never said that-"

Your eyes wandered over your dad's disappointed expression. "You didn't had to..."

---

Sitting upon the petrol stations' roof, the gentle breeze of the cool night air felt refreshing against your skin. Soft chirping of crickets eased your headache, your eyes gazing out into the dark empty road. The sound of small grunts and sighs caught your attention, briefly gazing over your shoulder. Rolling your eyes, once seeing Tessa struggling to climb the ladder with a mug in hand.

"What do you want?" you sighed, turning your attention back onto the road ahead.

"I thought- ouch!- that you could do with a hot drink."

The sound of the metal roofing warping and creaking, under Tessa's feet suddenly felt loud. As she approached you, taking a sit upon the roof's edge, leaving a small gap between you.

"I made your favourite." She kindly spoke, handing you the hot beverage. "I couldn't make it exactly to your liking, but it's the thought that counts. Right?"

Her weak smile faded as you remained silent. Speechlessly accepting the mug from her and holding it in your hands.

"You're not a disappointment." Tessa spoke after a brief hesitation. "For if it wasn't for you, we would of lost our home ages ago."

Tessa bit her lip before continuing, "I... did tell a friend about the truck. B-But I honestly didn't think he would believe me! If I knew- I wouldn't of..."

Your side glance caused her voice to trail off into silence.

"Well... what I'm trying to say... is that I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Sipping the hot beverage, feeling the gentle warmth fill you inside. Tessa followed your gaze, a small smile returning to her lips.

"You're worried about him. Aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes." Tessa teased. "Like a lovesick girl."

You returned her smile, playfully pushing her away. "Oh shut up. You're talking nonsense, I'm just concerned about him. That's all."

"Uh-huh?" Tessa raised an eyebrow. Seeing a glimpse of you trying to hide a shy smile behind the mug.

"So... What's Dad doing?" you asked, trying to change the subject.

"Playing with some drone that he stole from the one of the guys. Dad's convinced that they would of truly killed us."

Tessa's heart sank as she watched you pull your legs close to your chest, hugging your knees a little while resting your mug against them.

"B-But that's just Dad's crazy thought." Tessa's guilt weighed on her heart a little more. Starting to wish she never said anything.

"Everything would of been fine, if only I watched what I was saying." You buried your head, resting your forehead against your knees and hiding your face. "I-If I didn't panic..."

"Shhh. Shhh." Tessa cooed, closing the gap between you. Placing her arm around your shoulders and resting her head against yours. "It's not your fault. You have a big heart, Y/N. Never be ashamed of that."

She gently pulled away, cupping your tearstained face and making you face her. "You are a rare treasure, and that Transformer better know that."

Finally smiling through your tears, Tessa rested her forehead against yours. The sound of a horn blaring in the distance broke the silence, while bright headlights burned the darkness away. You quickly raised onto your feet, causing Tessa to catch the falling mug while the hot beverage spilled onto the ground below.

You placed both hands against your chest, while gazing at the oncoming truck. Feeling it flutter with joy, as the sound of a faminular engine came to your ears.

Tessa rose onto her feet, giving you one last soft glance before leaving. A knowing smile forming upon her lips. You've got it bad...

Optimus carefully reduced his speed, as he walked out of his altmode. Trying to slow the pulsing rhythm of his spark as he approached you. Being mindful of each step he took, so it didn't appear like he was in a rush to be beside you again.

"Optimus..." your voice was low. Trying to hide the excitement within your tone.

"My deepest sympathies for your home." His soothing tone washed away the doubt and worries, that had been building up inside you. "And for leaving you so promptly. But I had to confirm we weren't followed."

You speechlessly nodded, trying to hold a relaxed expression as your eyes took in the sight of him.

Oh my...

Rust and dirt no longer coated his exterior, instead deep blue metal plates framed his chrome fisque, like pieces of armour. Your heart skipping a beat as your eyes wandered over him, taking in every detail of his broad shoulders and strong biceps.

Red flames danced across the gauntlets, but it was his torso you couldn't look away from. Your cheeks matched the warmth of Optimus' spark, as you gazed at his chest plate. Hands clutching onto your shirt, stopping the urge to reach out and run your fingertips over his toned form. Knowing that your touch wouldn't just stopped at that chromed waist of his.

"Loving the upgrade." Forcing the words out of your mouth, after swallowing your nerves.

Optimus got down on one knee, as you edged a little closer to the side of the roof. His blue optics studied you for a moment.

"You've been crying..."

Something inside him ached a little, as you temporarily turned away from him.

"It's nothing." You assured, brushing the dried tears off your cheeks. "I've just been... a little worried that's all."

"And I admittedly have been concerned about you."

That little sentence erupted butterflies in your stomach. Simply gazing up at him with wondering eyes.

How the stars sparkled in your eyes almost caused Optimus to choke on his own breath. Warmth begun to build beneath his metal plates, as his yearning spark called out for you.

His head tilted slightly as his scanners picked up something. Your body froze as he slightly hesitated before reaching out to you. Optimus' servo curled into a relaxed fist, your eyes peering down at it as he gently placed the knuckle of his index digit under your chin. While his thumb rested against your cheek.

His spark skipped a beat as a loving sigh slipped out of your mouth. Enjoying the cool touch of his metal against your soft skin.

Optimus carefully turned your head from side to side, studying your features. His scanners picking up the bruise that begun to form upon the bridge of your nose.

"That bastard hurt you." The small underlying anger within his tone caught you off guard. "I promise... I'll make him pay for what he's done to you."

"Optimus." You cooed, placing your hand on the back of his servo. Bringing it to the side of your face, resting your head against his digits.

His fans tried to push the warm air out of Optimus' vents, as the heat beneath his plates begun to build. His spark aching with a yearn he could no longer deny.

Closer... The word played on his processors. Causing him to fully kneel against the concrete ground, leaning in a little more.

Your loving eyes met the soft glow of his optics, as his servo slowly trailed down towards your waist. His thumb tracing the curves of your thighs, hips and waist.

The butterflies in your stomach tangled your nerves, your heart fluttering against your chest as a small gasp slipped from your lips. Eyes lingering over his features before closing, as you rested a hand against his chest plate.

As your heart matched the beat of Optimus' spark, syncing in harmony. A beautiful glow enveloped the pair of you, creating a warmth that made you almost forget about the world, as your lips ghosted over one another.

"Mr. Leader of the Free Galaxy is back!" an unknown mechanical voice caused you to quickly jump away from Optimus. "I knew you'd make it! I never doubted."

Crosshairs... Optimus' processors sighed. Trying to hide his disappointed expression as the leader faced his joyful Autobots. The sound of their roaring engines calming, before stepping out of their altmodes.

"We've got your warning." Drift greeted, "we've been waiting."

"Hell yeah! Boom time!" Hound cheered. "We've got the gang back together."

Drift tilted his head to the side, as his blue optics switched between you and Optimus. Smiling to himself as his processors picked up, the afterglow that slowly faded from the pair of you.

Optimus cleared his throat before speaking, "Autobots. The humans have asked us to play by their rules. Well... those rules have just changed."

"Humans, bunch of backstabbing weasels." Hound groaned, causing the ground to shake as he disarmed. Throwing heavy weaponries onto the floor.

"Hound, find your inner compass. Loyalty is nothing but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation."

Hound raised a brow at Drift's wise tone, "what the hell are you saying?"

The blue Autobot smiled, "it's a haiku-"

"Cut the crap! Before I drop a grenade down your throat."

You backed away from the edge of the roof, as Drift unsheathed his swords. "Try it" he challenged, "you'll be dead."

"Oh please do it." Hound taunted. "I wanna see you do it."

"You know what?" Bumblebee's radio buzzed, "it save us so much time."

Optimus gave you an unimpressed expression, as you gazed up at him, raising an eyebrow. A small chuckle left you as he speechlessly gestured to his Autobots. As to say, 'look what I have to put up with.'

"Well raise your hand, if you're thoroughly disenchanted with our little 'Earth vacation.'" Crosshairs spoke, while circling the petrol station. His green optics studying you, "so who's the spy?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Put those things away!" you yelped as Hound and Crosshairs immediately withdraw their guns, and pointing them at you.

"Stop, Hound! Both of you!" Optimus commanded, stepping in front of the building.

Both Autobots gave their leader a puzzled expression, as he continued. "Y/N, risked her life for mine. We owe her..."

Drift gave Bumblebee a playful nudge, discreetly pointing at you and Optimus. While Hound and Crosshairs briefly looked at one another, and turning their attention back onto their leader. Watching him stepping aside, and silently encouraging you to return to the roof's edge.

"Has there been... any sign of the others?" Optimus asked.

"No..." Hound sighed, withdrawing his weapon and settling himself upon the ground. "We're all that's left."

"They're picking us off, one by one!" Crosshairs explained.

"We're the pathetic, dirty foursome." Hound joked, "and you make five."

"Is this our best-case scenario?" Shane's teasing voice questioned you. Your eyes gazed at him, watching the Irishman climb onto the roof. "Autobot witness protection?"

"Hey Lucky Charms." you spoke, placing a hand upon your hips. "You're welcome to leave at anytime."

"Well, for the record, Super Sister. I'm not hiding with you." Shane gestured towards Optimus, "I'm hiding out with that big guy."

Tessa and Cade followed Shane's lead, as the three of them approached your side. All looking at the Autobots and they chatted among themselves.

"Sensei, with your fate unknown Bumblebee has held command." Drift's optics gazed at the yellow scout.

Bee fist bumped the air, while Drift rolled his optics. "Despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline."

An annoyed whirl weeze out of Bumblebee, as his optics narrowed on his comrade.

"He's like a child-"

"This 'child' is about to kick your ass!" Bee's radio buzzed. Landing the first hit against Drift's helm.

"Cage fight." Hound whispered to you, slightly leaning against the petrol stations' roof.

"What's the matter with them?" Tessa lowly asked, reaching out for your hand.

"They're on edge." You briefly explained, allowing her hand to slip into yours. "Who could blame them? They're being hunted."

"Am I the only one who sees through this puppy-dog act of yours?" Drift taunted Bee, while holding him in a headlock. "It's beneath you."

"Yes, I've been waiting for them all to dispatch each other." Crosshairs cheered. His servos gently clapping, "so I could take charge with no trouble at all. Just me. Reporting to me."

"Well, it sure looks like you've been missed." You said to Optimus.

"Autobots, humans are hunting us down. We need to know why."

"Listen..." Cade spoke, stepping towards Optimus. "I don't know why, but I might have an idea about who..."

---

"This drone I stole recorded footage of an Autobot raid." Cade explained.

You placed an affectionate hand upon Optimus' knee, as he sat cross-legged upon the floor. His servo clenching into a fist, as the dragonfly-like drone projected the video footage.

"It's in pieces, but watch what happens here." Cade pointed out, "they ripping them apart."

"That's Leadfoot." Hound spoke, as he placed a part of his helm over his spark. Feeling the saddened energy sink within his chest plates. "Savages."

"And later, this truck comes to haul him off to K.S.I. Kinetic Solutions." Cade continued. "They're creating defenses, aerospace, government contracts. They designed this drone."

"So these government guys are hunting you down, and then passing you of to this K.S.I?" Shane questioned.

"Do you know anything else?" Optimus asked.

"Only that their company headquarters is in Chicago." Cade spoke.

Perhaps... There's a chance of the Autobots being taken there. You thought.

"No way to get inside without a battle." Hound thought out loud.

"What if you had some human help?" everyone looked at you.

"Sweetie, no." Cade protested. "Besides, what are you two partners now?"

"Dad, we're targets now too." You spoke, feeling his worried stare on you. "We need to know why, or we'll never get our lives back."

"Y/N. You have done more than any of us could've asked for." Optimus kindly spoke. "I do not-"

"I'm coming." You gently argued. Seeing Tessa's encouraging smile from the corner of your eye.

"It's going to be dangerous." Drift warned, as he lend towards you.

The blue Autobot stiffed as you placed a comforting hand upon his knee. Giving him a warm smile, "you're important Optimus. Therefore, you're important to me.

A suttle warmth radiated from underneath Drift's metal plates.

"Autobots." Optimus spoke, as he raised onto his feet. "I have sworn to never kill humans."

"Big mistake." Hound mumbled

"But when I find out who's behind this. He's going to die..."

Tag List

@ursamajor17

@crowleysthings

[lufyuu]

(I accidentally deleted the ask last time so bare w me, I'm so sorry anon😓 , it was about how my ocs would react to a trans reader)

Well I'll start with that none of my ocs will treat you differently regardless of the fact you're cis or not! Maybe they have different thoughts of you though

➤Eun Hyunwoo

He probably didn't know you were trans before working with you. He just thought you're a very pretty man<3 I mean, there are feminine looking men in the industry too so it doesn't matter if you're feminine/masculine presenting! He'd be extra careful during sex though, he's not ready to be a father and with your job...it's impossible for you to be pregnant whilst working at the same time. He's also always going to be there for you when the gender dysphoria hits, he doesn't understand it as he himself has never felt it but he'll do anything in his power to make you feel better. He often affirms your gender by calling you all sorts of things. "My pretty boy" is what he loves to say the most. He also loves to refer to you as his boyfriend a lot. And I mean a lot. He's partially flexing the fact that he's dating you too.

➤River Sterling

Mans didn't pay much attention to you before your first meeting, but he had heard about the rumors of you being afab. He brushed it off since it's really none of his business. When anyone talks shit about you just for being trans, he's ready to give them the "shonen background character treatment" if you know what I mean lmao. He's always going to use protection during sex! You're both in your early 20s! No way he's going to be a dad! Loves the idea of it though. He probably once tried to turn you into a cis man, not because he wants you to be one, but it was when you were having major gender dysphoria. He thought he'd be a good boyfriend and give you a dick and balls. Unfortunately, even the powers of a protagonist have their limits. His efforts were still appreciated, though! Loves stroking your hair while calling you "the loveliest boy he's ever met". He's an ass at times but can be sweet when needed!

➤Liu Zihao

Couldn't care less that you're trans. He has a duty to uphold, and that is to punish you for your wrongdoings. Though he does think it's convenient since getting you pregnant would be easier now. Who could blame him for wanting to breed you full of his cum? He's been waiting for you for so long it's only right for him to take what he wants now. He isn't the type of guy to babytrap you though. Gender dysphoria? Now that, you have to explain to him. Despite being in a powerful man both in the political stand and in general, he's only learned about the laws. He doesn't really understand humans. When he does get it though, expect him to be very supportive. Maybe overly supportive. Probably empathizes the word "boy" a lot when referring to you. Not that there's a lot of people he can talk about you to. He just doesn't care what you have under your pants.

➤Han Minho

I'm not sure how this one would work as the way reader met Minho was through military training where everyone was amab but let's say they do meet. Again, doesn't care much. Though he's ready to be a father, it all depends on you whether you want to start a family with him or not. He'd rather your parents know about the situation first before anything that far happens. He doesnt strike as a guy who knows that much about gender dysphoria. Probably awkwardly caressing your back as he tries to again, awkwardly comfort you. "You're a boy..I don't know what's the problem..?", he's trying his best.

[all-seems-no-well]

"Testing...Hello? Can you hear me?..."

------------

-Hello. AHEM... Regarding the past events of "Kalloway Kindergarten" , We have decided to hear from the victims 20 years later to get a better insight on what really happened. The following paragraphs will be from our latest interviews with each, separate person. - These will be repeated from what our subjects had said to the interviewers. - Sadly, some people hadn't come to the interview. So please bear with us on this unfortunate mishap. Thank you for listening, Thank you for your patience, and thank you for coming.

------------

-Subject no. 1 (???)

"Subject number one was unable to make it today.

-Subject no. 2 (Lilith (Lily) Prescott.)

"Slow and painful it was. At least, that's how it felt for me. But I can't imagine the more brutal things my brother had to go through. He was missing for a while, and...Nobody knew where he went. Until that very day, I and...someone else, had found him...... Under the school. The principal was doing experiments on him. It was all so... horrific. Too horrific for a child to see... If I could go back in time and give my younger self a hug, I wouldn't think twice. As for my brother, I would've done the same, even at the time. I wish In that moment I could've told him how much I loved him, how much he meant to me... But now I can't..."

-Subject no. 3 (???)

"Subject number three was unable to make it today."

-Subject no. 4 (Jerome Kennedy.)

"Hearing about the awful stuff my dad did after he died, broke me as a kid. If I had known what he was doing before, I would've told someone before it got so bad... Sometimes I still blame myself for everything that happened. I know I shouldn't, but he was MY dad. I can't get over it."

-Subject no. 5 (Buggs V. Mallory.)

"Shit sucked. Those other kids were awful to me. And yeahhh, I may or may not have been awful to them back. But YOU would be a dick too if YOU were constantly bullied! Oh, right...that... Well, I wasn't really a part of the whole thing. All I know is one day our principal died, and then another day our other principal died. A lot of principals died that week, man. So uh. I don't know.

-Subject no. 6 (Cynthia (Cindy) Louelle.)

"Okay, well. Kindergarten was kinda blehh... y'know? I met some decent people there, I guess. But I also met the most rudest girl in the world! Ugh... But yeah, like, I didn't really care about the whole "principal experimenting on us" jig. It was kinda just stupid... and annoying.... And I honestly don't even recall half of the teachers there, sooo...."

-Subject no. 7 (Monty Hyde.)

"I lost a lot at that damn school. I mean seriously, they didn't think to fire the janitor after day two?! I lost my legs because of him! And now I've just been stuck with these unflattering girl legs. But y'know what? Kindergarten was pretty fun at times. Cause' I was a little shit, and all the teachers knew it. I was even smarter than the science teacher, which says a lot about how smart I am now as an adult! ....are you recording this? Yeah? Good. YOU HEAR THAT DR. DANNER?! I'M BETTER NOW. IM A SUCCESSFUL MILLIONAIRE, AND WHERE ARE YOU? PROBABLY IN A RETIREMENT HOME...... Uh- Thank you for having me here..."

-Subject no. 8 (Felix K. Huxley.)

"I say... Kindergarten was certainly quite the experience. Younger me would've said it was horrible, but now that I've matured I see just how dramatic I was being. Though, there were some things I did that....I'm not quite proud of.... But! That aside, the experience looking back at it was quite swell. If not for that place, I wouldn't have met my lovely Cynthia...or what's his face- uh- Monty!... He's helped me a lot with my business, and I tip my metaphorical and imaginary hat to him."

-Subject no 9. (Theodore (Ted) K. Huxley)

"I believe they should've had much better funding, and staff. Because that place was just...awful. The teachers obviously despised their jobs, and the bathrooms... Oh the bathrooms were foul...! And even thinking about Kindergarten brings back horrible memories of what my brothe- actually nevermind... But anyway, thinking about the pain and suffering those poor students before me must've gone through...it makes me sick to my stomach. They could've done so much better for the students and the school itself."

-Subject no. 10 (???)

"Subject number ten was unable to make it today."

-Subject no. 11 (???)

"Subject number eleven was also unable to make it today."

-Subject no. 12 (Ozzy Harrison.)

"I don't have any good memories of that place. Not one. I'm sorry, but I don't even wanna talk about it anymore..."

-Subject no. 13 (Madison Bonneau.)

"It was like one second I was at recess, and then another I was in some sci-fi looking lab! But me and my friends got saved by some randos, so all was well after that I think! But in all seriousness, that mean lady got what she deserved. I'm glad nobody has to put up with her ever again... oh, oh! And also there was a girl there when it happened...and her head freakin' exploded!! I couldn't sleep for days because of the sight!"

-Subject no. 14 (Alison (Alice) M. Claire.)

"I heard Madi from the other room... I am incredibly sorry about her... excitement? She's never been interviewed before, and quite frankly, neither have i- o-oh, yes...my apologies... The whole situation had really put a negative toll on my well-being. I was scared to go back to school, I had a hard time trusting people, and I was overall terrified of everyone and everything around me. It felt like a bunch of eyes had been laid upon my person, and hands were out to hurt me at any moment. I and my friends were kidnapped by the other school's principal, and to say it was traumatizing would be an understatement..."

-Subject no. 15 (Ronaldo (Ron) Duncan.)

"hey do you have any cheese? No? Okay.. Well anyway. What I remember is like.. kinda crazy. So bear with me. I was just on the playground, swinging on the swings, okay? And then suddenly IM KNOCKED OUT, LIKE BLAM! And then, I woke up in some bunker with a bunch of sciencey stuff in it. And I'm like floating around in this giant tube thingy, right? And then these kids come into the bunker and they're like "well save you!!" And then the evil principle lady turns me into a monster and I'm all like "blehghh" and my friends are also like "blehghh." BUT THEN the principal lady also turns into a giant, ugly monster!! And then the kids kill her like superheroes. True story."

-Subject no 16 and 18 (???)

"These two subjects were unable to come in today due to their own plans together."

-Subject no. 17 (Austin Scarrow)

"I don't actually CARE about the stuff that happened in kindergarten! That stuff was a long time ago, and it doesn't matter to me anymore..."

------------

"By listening to our subject's stories, We hope you know how much this means to them, finally being able to speak up about their own experiences from the tragedy. These people are powerful, and strong, and we wish nothing but the best for them."

------

------

"...Jesus...these kids are gonna make me a killing. I've got to get in contact with those other subjects... If I don't, this whole jig is gonna go out of business..."

[coffeecat1983]

Mario Bros: Proud of You pt 3 (finale)

Part 1 here, 2 here

     "We're all so proud of you two." The words had barely left Marie's mouth when there was a tap at the door. Tony opened it.      "Hey, Mario, can you c'mere?"

   Following him, everyone gathered in the living room where Mario sat on the couch between Luigi and Marianna. Giovanni sat nearby, with Arthur leaning in the doorway.      "What's goin' on, Tony?" Giovanni asked.    Tony, who was standing nearby, motioned to the couch. "Mario, you boys got your first job today, and it didn't go so good, did it?"    Mario immediately recoiled, shoulders slumping and arms crossing as he refused to look at anyone.      "It was-" he started.      "It's because of me-" Luigi said at the same time.      "Hold on!" Tony raised his hands. The Bros fell slient, both staring in shame at the floor. Adjusting his glasses, Tony motioned to Mario.      "Mario, you start. What happened?" With a shuddering breath, Mario started with the pizzeria and told them everything.      "They didn't yell at us," he finished, "but-"      "It was my fault!" Luigi blurted out wildly, breath heaving as he teared up, hands clutching at his chest. "I was so busy making a stupid joke I didn't see the dog treat on the floor-"    Mario grabbed his brother's hand, shaking his head as he teared up. "Lu, no! I should have paid attention and warned you. Dad always says I should take care of you, and I messed up."      "Somebody cleanin' up my mess, again." Luigi muttered. "All I ever do is screw things up! You coulda stayed at the wrecking crew if it wasn't for me. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me."    The color drained from Mario's face, his eyes wide with an inner horror that wrapped around his heart. "Luigi, I could never hate you." he breathed. "You have every right to hate me," his shoulders slumped again, "like dad does."

   A soft gasp as Marianna covered her mouth. Both twins glanced at each other before looking to their eldest brother. Giovanni stood and moved so he was in front of Mario. His oldest son was surprised when he felt rough fingers rest against his cheek, a callused thumb wiping at his tears.      "Mario, I've never hated you." he said. "And take a look at Luigi." Stepping back, Giovanni turned to the younger brother. "Are you hurt?"    Luigi quickly shook his head. "N-No sir."      "You see? You went through all that and your brother is safe, because of you."    Exhausted, frightened eyes blinked as Mario realized Giovanni was right. Luigi gave a faint smile, muttering he was okay.    Mario took this all in. "But what about our business? We'll be shut down after today."      "About that," Tony spoke up. "Your customers today were Adam and Nina Carmichael. Kiddo, they're good clients of mine at the garage and I called him a bit ago." Folding his arms, Tony was thoughtful. "Thing is, Adam has a lot of friends in city hall so right after you boys left, he called an inspector out."    Kneeling, Tony took both Mario and Luigi's hands. "The plumbing in that place was ready to blow with just one wrong move, boys. The damage today was nothing compared to what it could have been if you two hadn't had the pipes blow. Turning off the water like you did saved the rest of the house!"    He stood, his eyes shining. "And to apologize, the Carmichael's want to hire the Super Mario Brothers to put all new plumbing in from top to bottom, with full pay. Boys, you're not losing your business, this is boosting it."      "W-We couldn't get the van goin'," Luigi pointed out. "How can we do a big job without the van?"      "Don't worry about it," Arthur chimed in. "I'll call Joe in the morning to get a tow and repair it myself. Been too long since I got my hands dirty at the garage." There was the sound of him leaving and the click of Marie's heels as she followed, calling for him to make sure he wore an old shirt and not his nice clothes.    As Giovanni returned to his seat and Tony returned to the kitchen to hunt any leftover cannolis, Marianna kissed Mario's cheek.      "You boys okay?" she said, looking to both her sons.      "I, I guess." Mario said quietly. "Dad, did you really mean it? You don't, you know..."    Giovanni leaned forward, hands clasped between his knees. "I don't hate you, Mario. And I know I've been hard on you about this, but I just want you boys to be safe. I know what it's like dealing with people face to face, and with the wrecking job at least you had Spike to take the guff from any clients. Just promise me if you need help, you'll come to me or your mom."      "Or your uncles and aunt." Marianna added.      "Brave Soul, Poco Anima," Salvatore finally spoke up, "you two really are super."

Later, the bros were getting ready for bed. Mario finished changing and fell back on his bed with a heavy sigh, arms flopped out as he stared up at the ceiling.      "Lu?"      "Yeah?"    Mario looked at him as his brother crawled up beside him.      "You sure you weren't hurt?" His twin looked at his arms and legs before patting his chest and stomach. "Um, yeah, I think so. What about you?"      "Yeah, I think so. Neck's a lil sore but I'll live." He sat up, crossing his legs. "I can't believe they wanna hire us to fix it."    Luigi was quiet for a bit. "...Do, do you think we can do this?" A faint laugh. "Heh, yeah. Why not?" Mario brightened a little. "Nothin' can hurt us, huh?"    Luigi smiled, rested his forehead against his big brother's. "As long as we're together." he finished.

END

By "CC"

[yuseirra]

vagueposting about onk 163~~~~ no real spoilers about the content!!! but I'll keep it under a read more still

good news is, I will still be able to draw hikaai till next week, I survived yet another week again~

If the rest of the remaining chapters are like this, they will never be able to handle the themes this work handles in good depth. There simply isn't enough space left, 4 chapters were the boundary/margin for me to imagine things could be wrapped up in a somewhat sufficient manner, this work tackles things that are quite serious and big and deserve good room for discussion-

It can't do that this way. Moreover, the direction of the writing feels so off to me. I don't agree with what it's trying to make of or convince me of... I'm too distracted of what's been happening in the other parts of the plot to resonate with it. I didn't come here to see Aqua trying to strangle his dad and...feel nothing much over it. It doesn't click to me as what's right, but maybe I read the work wrong, then it's on me... but I really didn't like seeing that scene!! It was terrifying and cruel!! and ugly!!! I don't like seeing people trying to kill each other and weren't they BOTH the victims in that case? Didn't they both care deeply for Ai and got traumatized because of it? Why did they end up trying to hurt each other like that? I felt there's some greater evil behind it all never being tackled at, blaming and killing one individual over it(and he REALLY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING YET!!!) is such a convenient and easy way out as well as it being...unable to resolve anything, wasn't Kamiki really right about that? Killing someone as helpless as he is wouldn't solve anything? He didn't say anything so wrong!!! I actually agree with him on that one.

I think it'd be better/best if they devote everything that's left to Ruby and Aqua in this case and just leave AI and her bf be and don't touch them at all if they're going to handle things like this...it's not going to work out.

I'd rather they do a deliberate, amazing job with two characters with depths than do mediocre-janky with many... I would have had my faith if there were like 8 remaining chapters but with only 3 now, no, it's impossible, the writers are such capable people and they can make wonders, I appreciate what they do and have done but I don't see it happening. In that case, I rather they just leave things be, then at least there'd be some room for me to try and make sense out of what's there than having something half-baked and unfulfilling as a resolution. They can still make Aqua and Ruby work, but with more characters being thrown into the picture? Oh..; If they were ever going to bring Ai and Hikaru in depth they need at least two at a minimum, but there is no way they'd have enough chapter space left to give them a proper chance

Ah, I can live another week to draw more hikaai UGH, UGHH.. I guess I am relieved to an extent since yet again, nothing important has been brought forth, nothing is explained, there wasn't ANYTHING new, if they're going to make the rest of the chapters like this one too, then I never thought I could say this but I feel I can write that ship better. They gave us a really good ingredient to cook with, so I can cook out a good meal, now what I want is for the ingredients to.. remain fresh or at least at a status quo. These characters deserve to be given a more.. proper discussion and space dedicated to them, I just don't see why the writers wouldn't choose to do it because it'd be wonderful if they did...

If things stay the way they are, I can still manage, I can still draw lots of fanarts! If it gets worse than this, then I'd have a hard time, if somehow, like a miracle, something really great can happen about them(I'm still not letting this hope go entirely because Ai is such an iconic character) it'd be great!

Not..a bad chapter but to have this be the one that takes up an entire chapter when there are only like 4 left...I felt so unimpressed... could have been okay as a standalone but even still, I don't agree with the sentiment it's trying to convince me of. Yes Aqua, you are a fool. A big dummy. Now go back to Ruby and live. This manga will definitely flunk if you die. I'm not worried about your life's sake at all because you're the main character and you won't die. You go and live a happy life pal, you can do it, go confess to Kana too because god you've been holding out so long with that and it's going to get stale

Your dad doesn't have the luxury to have even his story discussed adequately and I'm concerned about him, I would never make that choice as a writer, so I want to believe the two really good creators responsible for this to do it but there seriously isn't any space left for that to be a reality, if they're going to not handle it with care, then I rather they just leave it be as it is. I just don't see it being left as it is either but... that might be better for his sake, oh, they're not giving him and Ai justice rn. They should, but there's just too little space left. In that case, they should prioritize wrapping Ruby and Aqua's story at least.

[stranger-rants]

Runaway Max Annotation Series

This is part of a series I am doing on Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff. To see previous posts including the annotation guide, check the [#rm annotations] tag on my blog. These posts will follow the general formula of summary, annotations, quotes, and any thoughts or analysis I want to provide based on my own interpretation of the text. You can use my posts as references in fandom discussions.

Runaway Max Chapter Two

Max and Billy experience their first day of school. Max talks about her life back in San Diego, and why she tried to run away to L.A. to be with her dad.

Annotations:

1) Background

Their first day of school was "a Tuesday, more than a month after school already started," which means they started school mid-October. Max had friends in San Diego named Ben, Eddie, and Nate. She didn't have female friends.

2) Family Context

Max ran away to stay with her dad in L.A. after she had been told that they were moving to Hawkins. Susan views her ex-husband as wasting his smarts on irresponsible things and inconsistent work. He did some illegal jobs here and there, and he lives in a dingy apartment.

3) Unreliable Statements / Limited P.O.V.

Max says that she thinks having Billy around is making Susan crazy, but there's little to no context explaining why she thinks this. Susan is getting them ready for school, and Billy doesn't say or do much of anything to combat this.

4) Evidence of Abuse / Neglect

Neil is the one making them move. Max thinks that Susan is just going along with it. Max's father is not a responsible parent. He is often late in picking her up and frequently falls asleep in front of the T.V. Susan doesn't trust him to take care of Max, which begs the question - why would she trust Billy to take care of Max?

6) Max & Billy Relationship

There isn't much antagonism between them in this chapter which is odd given the supposed circumstances that lead to the move not yet revealed or even hinted at early in the novel. Instead, there is an attempt at solidarity in being pissed off about the move - Billy says Hawkins sucks and says, "I bet you're already planning your next jailbreak right?"

7) Valuable Insights

Susan and Max disagree greatly on how a young girl should dress and act.

8) Billy's Characterization

Billy is enraged by the move. Max says he "lost it" when he found out, but he expresses this mostly by keeping to himself. He blasts his music in his room and refuses to eat dinner with the family. Billy is told by Susan to drive Max to the middle school and walk in with her to make sure she gets what she needs. Billy drops her off, refusing to go in.

Quote(s):

Billy rolled his head sideways to look at me. "But I don't want to, Max. They're not paying me to babysit you. If you don't like it, maybe tomorrow you can walk."

This chapter reveals just how poorly planned this book is because there's not a drop of a hint of a piece of evidence as to why the family moved to Hawkins, even though fans adamantly use this book as evidence that the move was all Billy's fault. There is no hint that Billy blames Max or that Max blames Billy for it.

I know that later information contradicts this by putting blame on Billy's violence, but information that is revealed later on isn't meant to contradict the entire tone of a chapter but rather enhance it. The feeling the reader gets from this chapter is that Max and Billy didn't want to move, and they're unhappy in Hawkins.

Not that they're ready to kill each other over it.

I am endlessly fascinated that Max's mom doesn't want Max around her father because he's "irresponsible" but then turns around and expects her step son to babysit Max for free. It's his first day, too, and she expects him to not only drive her to school but check her in when he has to do that for himself when he gets to the high school.

Billy explains himself clearly and logically to Max as to why he's not going to do what Susan wants him to do, and you know what? He's right. Not only that, but Max is perfectly capable of checking herself in. The statement that Billy is "driving Susan crazy" is also random and lacking context, making Billy out to be the "bad guy" for being an annoyed teenager.

This doesn't mean that Billy hasn't done anything to piss her off or drive her crazy, but there is absolutely no context for the statement that explains what he's saying or doing that's so wrong. I cannot emphasize enough that statements are just made about Billy with little to no detail backing them up, so the reader is just expected to believe Max.

Max was also unlikeable in this chapter for one main reason - the "I'm not like other girls" attitude she carries. It's fine that she doesn't vibe with femininity in the way that her mother expects her too, but she puts herself above other girls in many ways to make herself "different" from them. She is a child, though, so this can change over time.

Back to Susan... Again. I have to say this again.

If Susan really doesn't trust Max's father to take care of her, it makes no narrative sense to expect Billy, her step son who she supposedly can't stand, to be Max's babysitter. It's irresponsible. If she wants Max checked in at school, she can do it herself because that's certainly not Billy's job when he also has school to go to.

The main thing we learn about Billy is that Billy is basically parentified and somehow that makes him the bad guy.

[proboblynotstriaght]

Day 4 of Loa-tober and I get to write about my fav and project all my gender issues on him <3

I've really enjoyed doing these and I hope to be able to keep up for at least most of the October month, although expect lowered quality work on Sundays because holy shit do I have a lot to do this Sunday.

Day 4 : Fave (Kremy) vague spoilers for Guys night

Kremy never really cared about his body when he was a child, back when he was called something different, something no one remembered anymore.

His father had wanted a perfect little daughter who would be obedient and wear new dresses and would one day be the perfect house wife to man that would be hand picked by the man of the house.

And then he left and never looked back.

|||||||||| blinked confusedly at her Memaw “is that why papa left?” She asked “Because I don’t like wearing dresses?”

His Memaw laughed, even as young she was she could tell that Memaw was bitter about it “Your Pappy left us because we were poor” She spit “He was poor and he couldn’t handle that, the coward” The old woman gently pet the soft scales on |||||||||| head “his leaving ain’t have nothin' to do with you cher”

||||||||||'s Mama wasn't home all that often. too busy holding down two jobs in order to make ends meet to raise her kids proper. But when she was home she loved dressing |||||||||| up in cute dresses. Kremy remembered excitedly dressing up in a pink, frilly dress, with glitter and everything. |||||||||| loved playing dress-up in these pretty clothes.

"Don't you think you look pretty ||||||||||?" Her Mother asked. |||||||||| nodded and beamed at the reflection in the cracked old mirror. "Your Pappy bought this dress for you y'know" |||||||||| shifted. The older woman's tone had changed, it was almost-bitter and mostly-wistful. |||||||||| didn't like it. She started trying to wriggle out of the dress.

"Let's talk a walk outside ||||||||||, show off your fancy pink dress" All of a sudden, |||||||||| panicked. He could feel every stitch and seam of the dress rubbing uncomfortably against his scales chafing them. His Mom grabbed his arm as he squirmed, trying to get out.

"What's wrong ||||||||||, are you ready to go outside?" It wasn't really a question as |||||||||| was suddenly being dragged towards the door.

"NO!" She cried. "I don' I don' wanna go out- outside" For |||||||||| it was just dress-up just a game. Not something to actually go outside in. In a pink dress that wasn't made for lizardfolk that had a connection to his father that left. "I don' like the dress, I don't- I don't wanna-" He cried as his mother continued to drag him towards the door.

"Oh shut up!" his Mama yelled "You liked the dress a minute ago! Why don't you like it now!" She shot |||||||||| a withering gaze "God your just like your father" |||||||||| was confused, she thought her mom still loved her dad, that's why |||||||||| was dressed in the clothes that he bought so long ago. "Maybe if you just wore your dress like a good little girl your father would still be here!"

Memaw always smelled of what she was cooking. She loved to cook big hearty stews and stir frys, and of course her amazing gumbo. |||||||||| dryed her tears in his Memaw's apron and took in all the smells.

"I don' wanna be like my father" |||||||||| whispered into fabric.

"You, ain't nothing like your father" His Memaw pulled |||||||||| into her lap

"But, but Mama said that he left- he left because I wasn' girly enough"

His Memaw got a faraway look in her eye, "Your Mama is still caught in the past, she doesn't want to blame herself so she blames you" His Memaw looked back down at ||||||||||. "Would you like to hear a story cher?"

|||||||||| perked up, tears now forgotten. Memaw always told the best stories "Yes!" he squealed "Yes please Memaw!"

"Alright, alright, settle down, and let me tell you the story of a little boy in a town called Agwe, except the town wasn't called Agwe yet, and that little boy didn't want to be a boy at all..."

And ||||||||||'s Memaw told her story of how she was born in the wrong body, "I made a deal with the Good Baron cher, and no one knows who I once was"

|||||||||| was silent for a little while. "Memaw..." |||||||||| hesitated, "I don't think I want to be a girl"

"An' you don't hafta be a one hun, when your older you can make a deal just like I did and you can give yourself a name that's actually yours, not one that your good-for-nothin' father gave you"

-------

Kremy twirled around in his red dress "Whaddado fellas!" He stumbled a little bit, he drunk a lot of alcohol. "How do I look?" He grined

"You look like a woman you just got murdered!" Gid laughed, "Ya got fake blood all over ya!"

Kremy laughed a twirled around in the mirror a bit more, and readjusted the silicone breast that was, to Gid’s credit, covered in incredibly tacky fake blood. Even now wearing a dress was just a game to him, but now it went by a different name, Drag.

Kremy made a deal with the Good Baron just like his Memaw before him, and while his life was messy and hard he was living as himself, in a name he really picked for himself.

Kremy was a man who was free.

[fizzing-imagines]

Playtime Pt. 3 | Daycare Teacher! Billy Hargrove x Reader

Notes: I didn't plan a part 3, but one person kindly asked for more dad! Billy so enjoy 🫶 This also gave me an opportunity to subtly sneak my OC in here again <3

Warnings: None

Words: 2.5k

"Is that...normal?", you asked Billy as you watched Audrey move her butt up-and-down like a worm. Billy and you sat on the ground together. He just laughed and watched his 8-month old daughter wiggle while the both of you watched her on the couch. "Yeah, some babies do that to calm themselves.", he told you. Audrey turned her head to face the two of you with a toothless grin on her face before reaching one hand out to Billy. "You're a lazy worm, Audrey.", he said before picking her up. She loved playing with his St. Mary necklace, but was still careful enough to not pull on it. "Is it normal that she isn't crawling yet?", you continued. Once again, he let out a laugh. "Some kids just start late. Some completely skip crawling." His eyes were fixated on his daughter, who's eyes were watching the gold pendant between her fingers. "Isn't she supposed to have teeth by now?" Finally, your fiance looked at you. "Baby, Audrey is fine. You don't need to worry so much." You sighted at his words as you watched him with your daughter. "I'm just afraid that I'm doing something wrong.", you said while absentmindedly twirling the ears of her stuffed bunny around your fingers. "You're not doing anything wrong, she might just be a late bloomer." The necklace now got boring to Audrey, so she looked over at you. "I don't know...she's so close to you. Never cries, never fusses. Maybe I'm doing something wrong." Billy had this conversation multiple times with parents; he knew where you were going with this. "(Y/N), no. You're not a bad mother, I'm not gonna let you think that way." He moved Audrey into your arms, where she happily looked up at you and reached her chubby arms out towards your face. "She loves you. Maybe she's calmer with me because I'm not home all day and you're with her all the time." You looked down on your daughter with a smile on your lips. "You're right.", you mumbled while holding her hand with one finger.

"We're lucky, aren't we?" Billy let out a questioning hum at your words. "I saw how Jenny had to raise Ari by herself. She wasn't so lucky with the guy she had a one-night stand with." Now he knew where you were going with this. "I should consider myself lucky.", he said. "You know, I love my job but my private life was shit. I drank too much, smoked, I didn't know where I was going. And any date I had just ended in sex and nothing more." He scooted closer to you on the ground. "Well, you're different. Maybe we can blame Audrey for all of this, but I'm lucky regardless." He kissed your cheek, which earned a giggle from your daughter. "I love you, very much.", he said to you with a smile. Audrey cooed at his words. "And I love you, too, my lazy worm." He gave his daughter a kiss on her forehead before kissing you once again, on the lips this time. "That's gonna be her new nickname, huh?", you asked him with a smug smile. A chuckle left his lips at your question. "Until further notice, yeah.", he replied while looking at his child once again.

Audrey continued being a little worm for a good while, and Billy was right when he said she might skip the crawling stage. She was pulling herself up on furniture two months later, which was the step before walking. Shortly after her first birthday, you were in the kitchen with Audrey and Billy. He was fixing the sink while you were cooking and Audrey was sucking on a fruit popsicle you made her while sitting on the kitchen floor. What she did do was pull and roll herself to the next best object, so this time she chose the fridge to pull herself up on. Her legs were a bit wobbly, but she still proceeded to take a small step while holding onto the fridge. She started doing that a while after pulling herself up. "Careful wormy.", you said to her with a small chuckle. Billy went from lazy worm to wormy once she walked with aid. However, she hasn't taken her first step yet.

Until now. She looked up at you, just two tiny steps away from her, and reached her hand out while taking two wobbly steps until she plopped down next to your foot. "Billy, she walked!", you said excitedly while picking her up. "You're such a smart girl, Audrey!" Your toddler laughed at your words and flayed her arms around in the air. Billy got up from underneath the sink so quickly that he bumped his head on the way up. "Shit.", he husked out while holding the place where he bumped himself. "She walked?" He couldn't even get up before you squatted down with Audrey. "Maybe she'll do it again." You helped her stand up by holding her arms. She took a small step with your help before taking three wobbly steps by herself to fall into your husbands arms. "Audrey, you strong girl!", he said while hugging her. "She walked!" His eyes had a glow in them, one you barely see on him but now it was beaming. "I'm so proud of you.", he said to his daughter before kissing her cheek. Billy celebrated his daughters development with her for a little more before handing her back to you. "Next thing you know, she's gonna surf with me."

Audrey was five when Billy started teaching her how to surf. Both were in the water, Billy showing her how to properly stand on the board he bought just for her, while you sat on a beach towel and watched them. Surfing was never your thing, although you loved watching Billy when he did it. Something about seeing your husband in nothing but swimtrunks, the sun shining on his nude skin, the way his hair looked even more blonde through the rays of sunshine. He was beautiful. Audrey was in a Lilo and Stitch swimwear set, one that looked like Lilos dress, while she carefully stood on the board with Billy's help. From afar, you took pictures of the two to put in your photo album later on. While you didn't know what they were talking about, they were laughing in between their words.

She learned surfing in no time. Audrey truly came after her father. As both of you watched her ride a wave, you couldn't help but smile. "Daddy!", she said while running towards you two with her board tucked underneath her arm. "Daddy, did you see that? That wave was at least six feet!" You knew that those words were familiar to Billy; he told you all about his mother. "I saw it, you're a natural!" They high-fived. "Can I go again? Just one more." Your husband looked over at you, all you did is give them a nod. "Next one will be seven feet, I promise!", she said before running back into the water. Billy sat down next to you again and watched you pack up your camera, towel and sunscreen. "Watch your child, not me.", you said with a smirk. At this point, you knew when he looked at you. It was something you could just feel. "Can I get a good look at you later tonight though?", he asked. You turned back to him and gave him a smirk. "If you get her to bed, sure."

"Can we watch Lilo and Stitch?", Audrey mumbled while curling up on the couch. She was home alone with Billy and just got her first period. Her dad made her a heating pad, got her snacks, did everything he learned from you to make her feel comfortable. "Of course.", he said to his child while turning on the TV and putting the DVD in. It has been the same DVD since 2002 which originally belonged to you, and now fourteen years later, it was pretty worn-off. But all three of you refused to get rid of it or get a new one. It was Audrey's favourite movie after all, and also the first movie she ever watched on the big screen. "Thank you, dad.", Audrey mumbled in a tired tone. When did she stop calling him daddy? They should send out warnings beforehand. As soon as the opening started playing, Billy sat down next to his daughters head. She sat back up and leaned her head against his shoulder. She looked just like Billy, if he were a girl, except for her hair. Audrey had his hair texture, but your beautiful (H/C) hair. And he loved it so much, he loved having a mini-him around. Especially because she inherited his personality as well; the good parts at least. She stood her ground, but didn't hurt anyone. She was confident, but not cocky. She knew what she wanted, but only when those things were good for her. "I hate that CPS lady.", Audrey mumbled with her eyes glued to the screen. "Me too, she's a bitch.", Billy agreed. "Money might be tight, but that's no reason to take a girl from her sister." Audrey gave an agreeing hum. "You must know.", she said with a smirk. "Isn't it weird having a kid when you have a degree in childcare? Like your own little study?" Billy laughed at his daughters words. "Well, I can only say so much about kids age 11 or under, so you've been out of my study for two years." Audrey laughed a bit. "But it was great, actually. No kid is alike, but you were always the most special one to me."

Two years passed, and Audrey started getting crushes. She didn't even need to tell you or Billy, you could tell by her mood. You could also tell that those feelings seemed to be reciprocated. Audrey was on the phone for hours, was happy all the time, stored letters and tiny trinkets in her room. One day, while vacuuming her room, you saw a small polariod of her and a boy on her dresser. You didn't want to snoop, so you didn't take a closer look, but you could tell that he had brown hair he put in a manbun and brown eyes. It only took a couple of days until Audrey told Billy and you that she had a boyfriend that she wants the two of you to meet. While Billy was a bit protective of Audrey, he still wanted to meet that boy. Two days later, said boy came home with Audrey after school. He introduced himself as Robin, a smart and nice boy, who stayed over for dinner. "So Robin, what do your parents do?", Billy finally asked him. "My mom is in the airforce. She was actually deployed here three years ago, now she's in the HSM-77 Saberhawks. My dad fixes helicopters part-time, he stayed at home with us until my youngest sibling started school." Audrey knew all this already, but Billy seemed pleased with Robin coming from a military family. "How many siblings do you have?", you asked him. "Five. I'm the oldest of six." While it seemed normal to him, Billy and you both looked at him a little surprised. Both of you were thinking the same thing: Which woman puts herself through six pregnancies?

Robins dad picked him up one hour after dinner since it was a school night. When the doorbell rang, Billy went to open it. Robin and Audrey were going downstairs while you were putting dishes away in the kitchen. "Am I dreaming or is that you, Harrington?", you could hear your husband say. Oh no. "Yeah it's me, don't cream your pants." You came out of the kitchen to see a man who looked like Robin, with glasses and a stubbly beard and his hands propped on his hips like a mom. "Audrey, you didn't tell me you're dating a Harrington.", he said to your daughter while she brought her boyfriend to the door. "I know, did that on purpose." She just gave him a smug grin before saying goodbye to Robin. "You didn't tell me either, kid.", Steve said to his son while patting his shoulder. "I really don't care, but you're telling your mother that one." Now that boy seemingly knew that he messed up. "You're still with Olivia?", Billy asked his high school nemesis. "Married her 17 years ago.", he replied. Billy just gave him a hum in response before saying goodbye to the two and closing the door.

In the end, you three agreed to dinner at the Harringtons house. And it went well, Billy and Steve got along surprisingly well, and so did Olivia. While you didn't know every detail of their history, it didn't seem to matter. Audrey and Robin stayed together throughout high school, they went to the same college, same university and eventually moved in together. Billy wasn't ready to see his girl grow up so fast, you had to consult him a few times while he complained about his girl becoming so big. The day Audrey told him Robin proposed to her, he started crying on front of her. Not because he was sad or angry, but because he was so happy for his daughter. And the day she got married he cried even more, even though this time he didn't cry until the two of you were alone.

"What's this about, Wormy?", you asked your daughter as she handed you and Billy a gift bag. "We saw it at the store and it reminded us of you two.", she said with an excited grin. This wasn't the first time she had done this, although it wasn't a regular thing. But she did love giving people small presents and trinkets. You and Billy carefully took two mugs out of the bag, one read "Worlds best grandma" while the other read "Worlds best grandpa" You put two and two together before jumping up from your seat. "You're having a baby?", you asked. Audrey gave you a nod and a grin before hugging you tightly. Billy was sat on the couch, starring at the mug in his hand while trying to process what just happened. "Dad, are you okay?", Audrey asked Billy while sitting down next to him. "I'm okay, Wormy." He gave her a nod while smiling and swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Come here, I'm so happy for you." He wasn't a man of big words anymore, but his actions spoke louder than words. The way he hugged her, how he stroked along her back, she knew he was overjoyed. Once they left, Billy pulled you close to him and silently cried into your shoulder. "Thank you, sweetheart.", he choked out eventually. "I didn't do anything, Audrey and Robin did all the work.", you said while petting his head. "No, (Y/N), it's you. You made me your husband, you made me a father. And now I'm becoming a grandpa. All thanks to you." You chuckled a bit before leaning in for a kiss.

"Technically, we should thank Ari.", you said eventually.

[we-pay-for-everything]

I've watched all available episodes of Nancy Drew and am rewatching season 3 (can you tell I ship Nace), and here are some of my thoughts no one asked for:

The biggest plot twist was the reveal in season 3 or 4 that Nancy's mom hasn't even been dead for a year. It's fucking crazy how each season spans a few weeks?? You're telling me that in less of a year Nick and George fell in love, got engaged, and then broke up? And Nick's on his third relationship. Bess fell in love 3 times?? She loved the FBI agent, called Odette the love of her life and is now seriously in to the new girl? And how many boyfriends has Nancy had? Nick, Owen, Gil, Park, and soon Ace? Plus she had a thing with the other detective? And now Ace is the love of her life? Carson really started dating that cop as soon as his wife died and is now seriously dating someone else? He's probably still paying for his wife's funeral. Do normal people move on this fast? Also, in less than a year the gang decided they would die for each other, unquestioningly? Intense.

Season 2 was a mess. Season 1 was legit fucking scary and the plot was amazing. After season 1 the show felt completely new. Season 2 was the worst because they did a whole concept change with the case of the week format, which imo didn't work. The episodes were all dry and there was nothing driving the story forward. Seasons 3 and 4 are a mix of seasons 1 and 2, with the episodes having some continuity and still standing on their own.

Season 2 also had the issue of Odette. I hated that storyline. The actress honestly did a very poor job. I couldn't connect with her at all. Season 4 is way better so far.

It's fucking weird how it was an issue when underage George dated Ryan (ewww), but Nancy (or the show) doesn't apparently see a problem with three grown-ass men being into a teenage girl? She's so smart but doesn't think it's inappropriate for them to date her? Especially the cops??

I'm sure Nancy gets on everyone's nerves, but she really has the unfortunate main female lead syndrome. She's insufferable most of the time. She's always getting everyone in trouble, never listens, puts herself and her cases first. When Ace got in trouble and asked her to solve the chocolate box riddle, she literally ignored him while he still asked about her case and told her to be careful. Although he was scared and in danger, he didn't mind being told no and stopped to talk with her. The hilarious thing is that she later solved the riddle in like 2 seconds lmao. The show takes it too far. She's smart but her photographic memory is ridiculous.

To be fair, the characters were also unfair to Nancy when they blamed them for their death curses in season 2. They said it was her fault because she was selfish, but they literally insisted on going with her to call on the Aglaeca. She told them not to.

Bess's best love interest was Odette. I didn't like the actress's performance, but it was cute anyway, and that one kiss they shared was magical.

I started noticing something between Ace and Nancy in season 2, and now I ship them, but it's also weird seeing them together. They fell in love even when they were dating other people?

One of the best lines in the show was when George's grandma said something like "It's not a path if it goes nowhere. That's a hole in the ground." Made me laugh the two times I heard it.

I wish the show had stuck with the season 1 format.

I shipped Owen and Nancy and he's still my second favorite boyfriend of hers after Ace.

Nancy saying Ace isn't letting her move on in season 4 is absurd. How is her stopping her??? But the dude shouldn't have let the ferret go just because he got jealous. He went through all that trouble just to catch it.

I still don't fully understand why George and Nick broke up.

I love Ryan and Carson's dynamic, and their dynamic with Nancy. It's like found family, with a twist. Ryan is Nancy's biological dad but he literally just found out and Carson raised Nancy but she's not his biological daughter. It's also cute how Ace is tight with Carson. He was really nice to him.

After Nancy absorbed all the lust in the chastity dress, she later said it was refreshing to just feel desire, but that was so cheesy. I'm sorry, but when does she not allow herself to feel desire? That girl is not repressed in any way - only emotionally.

I'm not super fond of George either. My faves are Ace, Bess, Ryan and Carson. Nick and George's sisters are cute too.

I had other things I wanted to say but I can't remember them...

Also, if anyone wants to chat about Nancy Drew, my ask box and "DMs" are open!

[the-invisible-queer]

How does a grown man beef with a child? Was it his daughter in the kitchen with your brother? Because if so that admittedly is a poor tactical choice.

And yes please give us all the decade old tea I bet it’s still good. Don’t even bother with pseudonyms if you don’t feel like it

OH BESTIE

Buckle the fuck UP and I'll drop initials so I don't get sued because the youth pastor is currently in a legal suit against his own father rn THE TEA IS PIPING

Our Characters:

Eddie - My older brother

R - Senior pastor

M - Youth pastor

M&M - M and his wife because they both suck and are one entity in one story

G - R's current wife

E- R's ex wife BUT NOT M'S MOM

JK - E & R's son

I've got 3 stories so it's long as fuck. There's aren't the only scandals just the main ones that have to deal with M's bitch ass. I can't wait to hear that he died. I'm gonna piss on his grave.

SO Eddie got the title of "junior youth leader" when he was like 15/16 because he WAS the youth group. People only showed up to hang out with him. He knew everyone. He knew everything that was going on. He was the one keeping the peace because we were ROWDY fucking kids.

FOR THE RECORD Eddie's kitchen fingering was not with M's daughter. It was with his first girlfriend.

Story 1: Local trashy white man picks on Puerto Rican teenager

Eddie is actually the reason M's daughter's bathroom fucking scandal wasn't a FULL scandal. He kept that shit underwraps and stopped the gossip because he was friends with both parties involved.

M wasn't our original youth pastor. We used to have this ANGEL named Tim but he moved out of state so R gave the job to his son. I never liked M and then when he gave me shit for taking Fridays off because I was exhausted from school I hated him. He was NOT meant for that position. I think he only got it because he was a big kid (derogatory).

NO ONE liked M. Deadass no one came to youth group for the lesson. We came to hang out with out friends we only got to see on the weekends.

Literally the beef STARTED because Eddie was smoking off property BEFORE youth group with a few other teens. M didn't like that because he's supposed to be an example.

Keep in mind Eddie was 16yrs old. Living in an abusive household. Taking the brunt of the physical abuse from our mom because he protected us. And he was a poor kid going to a private school and had to keep a certain GPA to stay. Man was stressed and JUST wanted to smoke before he had to go infront of his peers and friends act like everything was perfect and he was hyped for God for 2-3hrs every weekend.

So for like 2 months M and Eddie were going back and forth on Facebook. Indirect posts, comments. EVERYTHING WAS OUT IN THE OPEN! Eddie refused to move it to DMs because he's not stupid. If this grown man wants to act a fool he was going to do it in front of EVERYONE!

Like M was judging him so brutally and pulling out Bible verses out of his ass. It was annoying.

It came to a head when R basically told my dad to control his son. Imagine being I'm your late 40s with a son in his late 20s picking a fight with a 16yr old. And you blame it on the CHILD!

That obviously didn't sit well with my dad.

And it wasn't like my dad was just some dude. My dad was head of security. My mom was heading the baby/toddler care classrooms.

We were at the church SEVERAL days out of the week.

That was my second home at that point. It's the church I grew up in.

WE WERE PART OF THE CHURCH!

So we kind of started getting pushed out of the church. I believe we had been there for like 11 years at that point.

We finally left after a year of the awkwardness and feeling like it wasn't home anymore.

Story 2: Death, Devastation, and Divorce

This one is rough. Deals with losing a child. And is still very much a story that hurts me 19 years later.

In 2005, R and E's son, JK, who was only 7 at the time died on an amusement park ride. He was a friend of mine and I was absolutely fucking devastated.

R and E were still married and E was the worship leader at the time.

And it was FUCKED UP devastating. Because E took JK's body home and prayed over him for 3 days for God to resurrect him. Like she admitted this in front of the entire congregation. What made her stop and accept it was he came to her in a dream and told her he was not leaving heaven.

There was a huge rift at the church over it. Instead of people supporting R grieving his baby half of the church ended up leaving following this.

People didn't like that R rightfully took a break from preaching despite E still heading the worship team. He had guest pastors come in and give sermons. I think he took 3 months off.

During this time E had an affair with the man who she is now married to.

So obviously R and E divorced. Got in front of the whole congregation and broke the news. E left the church and opened a little cabaret theater with the money from the amusement park lawsuit from JK's death. E took all the money from the lawsuit because R didn't want it.

Even though I think he could have out some of that money towards the church but I digress.

A few years later R met and married G and they're still together. I adored G and still very much hope she's doing well.

Story 3: NEW TEA POPPING OFF AS WE SPEAK

SO I can't remember the date but I had a dream that Joe and I visited a church in Texas and it happened to be pastored by R. It was a weird dream because I hadn't thought of R in years and why was he in Texas?

TURNS OUT during COVID R and G sold the church and moved to Texas. I HAD NO IDEA THIS HAPPENED!

And the day I had the dream R&G posted on their Facebooks EXPOSING E, M&M and some other not important assholes from the church.

THE FUCKING DRAMA

So when G came into the picture people were weird obviously. She wasn't E. And some Christians don't believe in divorve and remarrying.

But what R&G exposed was some of the leaders didn't accept her. E still had loyalties within in the church. WHICH IS WILD!remarriage. She had spies.

Also despite E getting all the lawsuit money from JK's death, in the divorce she fought for alimony on top of child support. R and E had another daughter.

R claims she had 10% of his salary. He didn't fight or stand up for himself because he was trying to make it as quick and clean as possible for their daughter.

He also took accountability for not protecting and defending G from the sharks in the church's leadership.

E and her spies at the church made R and G's lives a living hell behind the scenes. AND NO ONE KNEW!

And even now that R and G are on the other side of the country E and M&M are still making their lives hell, trying to claim their new ministry is fraudulent.

Imagine caring that hard.

NOW let me tell you about M&M! So M married M² and I had no issues with M² but now as an adult I realize if she chose and married that piece of shit why wouldn't she also be a piece of shit?

So R alleges in his post that M&M did some sketchy ILLEGAL shit in the church that made him ask them to step down from leadership instead of throwing their asses in jail which they didn't like. Which at that point should have just sent them to jail.

He didnt specify because M&M/E and R&G are currently suing each other. It's a big MESS!

And after M&M were forced to step down they left the church and moved to NC.

And M&M/E we're trying to turn the rest of R's family (his mom and siblings against him) but fortunately they all knew better.

People mentioned in the lawsuits are people from the church my family knew personally.

Mostly all people I never fucking liked too. Which is why I trust my gut about people always.

It's a WHOLE thing and my mom is watching Facebook for updates.

[elijah-wilfred-boyle]

Literal Perfection Chapter 5

What's this??? AN UPDATE????

that's right folks I'm back on my bullshit, enjoy this short Hunter based chapter while I prepare for chapter 6, which takes place at the same time as this one ;)))

Enjoy!

___________________________

Hunter wasn't stupid.

Okay, maybe he was a little stupid, but he wasn't stupid enough to not see that Darius was definitely into his new assistant.

And, honestly? Hunter didn't blame him; they're nice, funny, hardworking, competent and actually seems to care about their job, which is a huge improvement from Darius' last assistant.

However, despite how painfully obvious it was that he liked them, Darius had yet to ask his assistant out. So Hunter decided to take things into his own hands.

So he made a plan, and by the Titan was it gonna work.... hopefully.

But he couldn't set the plan into action by himself, no, he needed back up and he knew just who to call.

"I'll be back later today, Hunter", Darius called from the front door as he left for work, "Don't blow anything up, don't set anything on fire, no flying in the house, just, don't be an idiot whilst I'm gone, okay?"

"I've got it!", the ex golden guard yelled back.

The sound of the door shutting echoed through the empty cottage and Hunter waited a few moments before he was sure that Darius was gone and grabbed his scroll.

It was time to begin phase 1; planning.

Emerald Entrails

Hunter: uRget!!!!!!! Come 2 mY H0sE.... Tell n0one T0p secret!!!!

It took the emerald entrails, Luz and Amity twenty minutes to get to the cottage, a bit too long for Hunter's liking but he could make it work.

"Alright", Hunter said as the group sat down in the sitting room, "I have gathered you all here today to embark on a mission of great importance, this is a mission of life or death, are you willing to help me with this?"

A chorus of 'yes!'s, some more excited than others, rang out.

"Awesome! You're mission is this", Hunter pulled a white board covered in paper over and dramatically ripped off a piece of paper off the board revealing the plan. A picture of you was stuck in the middle, "This", Hunter continued, "is Darius' new assistant." He pointed at you.

"Now, Darius likes his assistant and I mean likes them as more than his assistant."

"Wait!" Luz yelled, standing up excitedly, "Is our mission to play matchmaker with Darius and his assistant?!"

Hunter snapped his fingers at her, "Exactly! The plan is simple; 1. we slowly get Darius to start giving them gifts, something they like, small things at first, then they'll get bigger as it goes, 2. We get them as close as possible, that way they'll associate eachother with good things, like animals, and finally 3. Romance."

Everyone bar Amity cheered as Amity raised her hand, "Sorry just feel like I should point out that Darius' assistant is my auncle."

"Thats even better!" Gus exclaimed, "That way you can convince them to ask out Darius!"

Amity thought for a moment and then shrugged, "sure, what's the worse that could happen?"

~time skip because fuck you this is my fic~

The next day the plan was set into motion.

It began with Hunter lying on his dad's bed watching as he picked out a cloak.

"You know, I think your assistant would like that cloak, the purple one."

Darius held up the aforementioned cloak and hummed in thought, "Do you think so? Well I never where it anyone, I'm sure it would look good on them."

Amity had also made some progress on her half.

"You know, you and Headwitch Darius would make a really cute couple."

You sputtered indignantly for a few seconds, a light blush in your cheeks, "Really? Well, I don't know, maybe."

After a few more weeks of this, the group met up at the entrance of Hexside, Hunter and Amity sighed in disappointment.

"I'm gonna guess the plan didn't work?", Viney asked, watching as the two sunk to the ground.

"Yeah, I don't think it did." Amity groaned, her attempts to convince you of how cute you and Darius would be together didn't seem to go anywhere, just you laughing or waving her off.

"I'm honestly starting to think that Darius never liked them like that to begin with." Hunter sighed dejectedly, running a hand through his hair.

"Well at least you tried? I mean it could've gone worse." Willow supplied sitting next to her friends, the rest of the group nodded in agreement and Hunter and Amity couldn't help but agree.

"Yeah, they could've ended up hating eachother, I think its better they stayed friends", Gus said and hopped down the steps, "Well I gotta go now, see you all tomorrow!"

They all broke off one by one until Hunter and Amity remained, Hunter walking to the Abominations Coven and Amity to Blight Manor.

"I feel like this could've worked!", Amity muttered, "I mean they definitely seemed in love? Maybe we didn't try hard enough?"

Hunter shook his head, "No, I think Gus is right, if we pushed them too hard then they might have ended up hating eachother, it's best if they stay as friends."

The two walked in silence until Amity, split and began walking a different direction.

Hunter spent the rest of his walk to the Coven lost in his thoughts, he looked over his supposedly foolproof plan again in his mind. He reached the Abominations Coven still in his thoughts and walked to his dad's office.

He walked into the office without knocking and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh sweet Titan!"

"Hunter! Get out!"

The door was slammed shut with a blob of abomination as Hunter stood there with a look of horror on his face.

He wordlessly took his scroll out of this pockets and sat down on the floor.

He opened the groupchat and started typing.

Emerald Entrails

Hunter: The plan worked

Hunter: I have seen things I will never be able to unsee.

[luxshine]

Ok. So we start Stranger Things season 3

I write this as I watch, so basically, it's real time watching with me only in just one post.

And we start of course with the most idiotic team of scientists that has ever lived on a tv series. Because SERIOUSLY, what were they expecting, opening the door again? Carebears? Rainbow Brite? No, of course not. Death and destruction, that's it.

Also, I hope the general dies painfully. He has that look of a main villain that I usually hate so yeah, death. Pleas. Soon.

And OH! They're russians. So they're ANOTHER team of very stupid scientists, not OUR stupid scientists. Of course. The Eighties and the cold war and the Red Scare. So... HOW did they get a gate?

(And no, seriously, Scientists in fiction are always the stupidest smartest people around. I'd be more annoyed by it if it wasn't because in RL we have Scientists making cloned mammoth meatballs so... yeah)

Mike is still an idiot I see. But those kids are not JUST one year older. No way.

Also, someone get Hooper a parenting manual and a hobby. And get El some standarts. Mike is way below her level.

Good to see Lucas and Max are still going strong. And that Max is now part of the party.

AWWW... Steve's coworker knows the kids as "His Children". And he lets them in to Rated B movies that they SHOULD NOT be watching. SO sweet. And Will is SO in love with Mike it's painful. Really, Mike, Eleven, GET some standarts. There are much, much better boys than Mike out there.

Also, I had seen Steve in the Scoops Ahoy's outfit before (hard not to in Tumblr) but NOTHING prepared me to the actual thing in action. He looks SO ADORABLE.

I see the series is now cribbing Resident Evil 2's homework.

I like Robin. She takes none of Steve's crap.

SIgh... Will should NOT be seeing a zombie movie. And hey, the Mind Flayer is back. This is not going to be a good summer for poor Will.

Will, get some taste. Seriously, Mike is trash.

Oh, I see Nancy fixed her polycule issue with the DUMB solution of just having one boyfriend. Well, that leaves Steve free to be a good Single DAd. And good to see that Super Bob is still remembered.

Nancy is still the most selfish girlfriend in the universe I see. Jonathan should also get some taste. I can see that in general the Wheelers are trash people.

AWW, Dustin was away. I really hope his friends didn't forget him because if they did? I am writing the whole group off. YEs, even Max. You don't diss my fave boy.

WHO THE FUCK gave Dustin THAT Monkey Cymball toy? Like, seriously... WHO?! Because you know what toy is? That toy is the cover to Stephen King's Skeleton Crew's short story collection first edition and frigging scary as hell. I can't see monkeys with cymbals thanks to that short story and THAT one is... like the worst of them all.

And AWWW, they just wanted to surprise him. I love them and their friendship so much, even if Mike's an idiot.

WHO THE HELL gave Billy a job as a lifesaver? That man is NOT equipped to care for anyone except maybe his mullet. And he needs to die. Like now.

And it is REALLY creepy to see all the moms lusting after him. ESPECIALLY mrs. Wheeler. She like totally needs to get a life. I want all the Wheelers to move. The only one I don't hate is Mr. Wheeler and that's because he's a non entity.

Hooper's actor was getting ready for Red Guardian, right? His weight is fluctuating weirdly. Also, seriously, get Hopper a parenting manual, and while I agree that Mike is a terrible boyfriend, but he was a lot more sensible in seasons 1 and 2 than in this episode. Sure, he is now a single parent of a teenager, but he didn't use to be this... Alpha male toxic.

Ok, If Nancy goes postal on her coworkers, I won't blame her.

Mike is an idiot. I think we have established that.

DUSTIN HAS A GIRLFRIEND!!!! OMG, Someone tell Steve that his child is growing up.

I agree with Steve. The hat ruins the hair.

And I love Robin.

Ok. Joyce giving parenting lessons to Hooper should be sweet but... it is a bit cringy. Since... uhm. yeah. HARD second hand embarrassment for me here. Also, she has no daughters so... it's weird.

Plus... he TALKED to Eleven last season. Heart to heart talks. Sure, sometimes they ended up in screaming bouts, but they talked. HE knew how to do that!

Like, seriously, how hard would it be to say "I don't want you kissing with tongue under my roof, El, you still need to get a bit more socialized before jumping on a relationship!"? Hopper could do that.

And I see that the Joyce/Hopper ship is sailing.

Mike is an idiot. Will needs a better crush, and Dustin needs better friends. I mean, Lucas and Max ALSO are in a relationship, but they are not just dumping everyone just to go and suck face.

And we're still cribbing Resident Evil's notes. Oh, and Vermin, from Marvel. Anyone remembers Vermin? VERY gross villain. Also Parasite Eve. Cool.

Someone kill Bill, PLEASE.

Seriously, we lost BOB so we could see one of the GROSSEST examples of male gaze and bad flirting with a woman who could be his own mother?! And Is MARRIED! And said NO.

Oooh, trouble in paradise for Max and Lucas.

No, seriously... Dustin needs better friends. He just came back from a month away, is VERY excited about his new girlfriend and how many things he learned over said month. And none of them believe him or want to hear about that and... it's sad. Really sad.

He should've gone to Steve. Steve would've listened, be happy about him and give him a ride to the hill so he wouldn't have needed to take five hours to get there.

BOB!

I miss Bob.

Ok, seriously, the way the situation of Eleven with Mike around Hooper is being presented really doesn't work for me. He is a father, an adult, and he KNOWS what Mike is thinking because he WAS an hormonal teenager too. And he was the one who let El go to the dance last year. So this whole... I sleep listening to their radio romantic songs is... WEIRD.

ANY parent would go "hey, you can't have your door closed when your boyfriend is here" and it would be OK. Yes, Kiss and all, but open door because you guys are not ready for being parents yourself, you idiots.

Sigh. Hooper. I like your plan of killing Mike. But you are the adult, and the responsible one. So don't kill him. But yes. Mike SHOULD remember that he is dating the Sheriff's DAUGHTER.

Poor Dustin.

At least Will DOES want to hang around. But then, Will is the other single kid in the group and the one who will NOT get a girlfriend.

And of course now Dustin gets RUSSIAN radio. Kid, you need to stay with Steve. When you're with Steve you don't get in that much trouble. Or at least you have someone with a bat ready to defend you.

I NEED a reunion of Steve and Dustin. I mean, yes, the Russians opening the gate again is important and creepy and they shouldn't be doing it, but I REALLY need more Steve and LESS Bill and his creepy relationship with a married woman.

MRs. Wheeler... I don't like you. But seriously, going out with Billy is a mistake. BIG ONE. Don't do it.

Oh, hey. He FINALLY is going to Die. So happy about that. Pity that takes out the chance for Mrs. Wheeler to do the right thing, but I've wanting to see Billy die since, well, since he was mean to Steve. And his kids. So yeah, bye bye billy, you survived like 5 chapters too long for me.

Also, great horror reference at the end.

Strong beginning season 3. Even if you are mistreating my Dustin. Do better, or I will be sending Steve with a bat to your offices.

[elen-aranel]

Picard spoilers but... this episode had me in tears and not in an 'oh wasn't it emotional the acting good job guys' kind of way.

I don't like picking over my personal pain and traumas with my parental situation in public. However. I have personal experience as the child of a completely estranged parent.

I feel like I don't know these characters any more.

What could possibly make Beverly behave in that way?

Saying "Jack chose not to find you" is the most bullshit reason for him not having a relationship with Jean-Luc.

It is cowardly and self-serving in the extreme.

Beverly is trying to blame Jack for HER cowardice.

But she was the one who chose to poison her son against his father.

She could have reached out to Jean-Luc. She did not. She brought him up, herself, without his father. Solely.

He loves his mother. His mother is all he's known. So why would he want to find the father that he doesn't know if his mother who he loves doesn't want to communicate with him AT ALL?

Wouldn't he feel like he was betraying her if he did?

No matter how much she's like, 'Oh I would be fine with it', he KNOWS there's a reason they don't talk. And he loves her.

There's been no sci-fi reason for Jack to have been kept from Jean-Luc. There's been no "I had to keep him safe - he was threatened at birth" reason.

As of episode 3, unless Beverly is lying, Beverly decided unilaterally that it wouldn't be safe for Jean-Luc to be involved in raising his son, and...

I am well aware that I am better off, never having known one of my parents, than some people who had both. But I have ALWAYS missed that presence. I have always wanted it, even though I have never been able to reach out and find my other parent for various reasons.

And she took Jack's father away from him.

Yes Jean-Luc had a poor relationship with his father. Yes he didn't want to be a dad. But it's not like he was a bad person. He was clumsy with children but he was never abusive with anyone under his care.

I do understand her having misgivings, given who Picard was but... I can't imagine her not screwing herself up to talk to someone? To him? I can't imagine her being that kind of... emotionally illiterate? Unable to examine her own fears and feelings?

And really she had to cut off all her friends? Even Troi? I know the Troi-Rikers went through some stuff and were on a different ship and everything but... I don't think Thad got sick immediately?

SHE needs to take some ownership, too, of her decision to bring Wesley up on a fucking Starship. Damn.

She NEVER HAD TO be a doctor in Starfleet. She doesn't get to kind of blame Jean-Luc for losing Jack and Wesley to the stars when she CHOSE THE STARS HERSELF.

I just

make it make sense because I can't.

Also. Riker and Picard being so antagonistic toward each other grates. Riker took Picard's advice and it was wrong... that's still on you as captain m8

I did enjoy Worf exclusively calling Raffi Raffaela though.

[nodadnochance]

Why my brother is an awful person.

I am childless. I am 29, 30 very soon. I am getting old!!! (i half joke, 30 is hardly old but it's not exactly young and naive anymore - or maybe i dunno, i am naive and just don't realize it, right?) My brother is mid to late 30s, probably around 36 or 37. He has 3 children. He has left them.

I think he is scum. Would it of been so hard for him to stick around for the next decade so his kids can become old enough to have had their development process happen with their dad in their lives? Physically.

He now is living back at home with my mum, he sees his kids 2-4 times a week. Which is more than a lot of kids have. But it still makes me angry. Why Angry? Why do I care what my brother does with his family? His kids? I care because it's the same fucking cycle.

Our dad left us, now he has done the same to them.

And now those kids are struggling.

Look, Im not saying itsall his fault. but its all his fault. Actually, it really was his fault. He cheated on his wife. then he had the gall to say "well she kicked me out". fuck you! You put the pressure on her to decide how to relationship goes so that you could blame her for breaking things up.

By contrast, my mother cheated on my father - but my mother has never blamed my father for leaving. She always says she is to blame and i say to her "no your not". I have yet to tell her "look, you stuck around. He didn't. Whether anyone cheated or not, is not really relevant to me as a child - I didn't care if anyone cheated. i just wanted my parents with me growing up"... i will tell her next time she eludes to this sentiment...

It makes me angry because I see how my neices and nephews are struggling to cope wit this big change. They are probably ages 8 tto around 13. Maybe bit younger. They are not enjoying this. I had my neices kicking and stamping on MY feet in the supermarket just before christmas 2023.... now, they were playing, just messing around - right? But think about it like this. I look like my brother, i sound like him, i am similar to him. Were they taking out aggression on their father through me? It's a possibility. They don't deserve to lose their dad just cos he wanted to go "have fun".

And now look. He is living back home with me and my mother. He is with his new girlfriend. He is playing in a band. He has a job he loves (he struggled to find this job). He is doing so well for himsefl! but hey, guess what - Your kids are not. They miss you. You absolute cretin.

When you have kids, you dont get to "have fun". You dont get to just fuck off with another women. When you have kids, you stick around and raise them. EVERY DAY. Every morning, evening evening and night time. Every weekend. All the time. They are your everything for that 18-20 year period. Once they are all grown up and on their way to move out (once they start having a plan for their 20s) THEN you can fuck off and go "be happy" Let me explain why I think like this. He wants to enjoy his late 30s and 40s right? sure. fine. We all deserve to be happy. But in exchange for his hpapiness now, he has doomed all three of his children to a life of abandonment. Or misery. of Feeling unloved and unwelcome on this earth. Why? Because the one person who should've stuck around, didn't. They wont care about his relationship with his wife. They wont care about the excuses. They wont listen and they wont care. What they care about is the love for them didn't win over his hatred for his wife or his inability to make things work.

this world is full of people who make excuses for their shitty decisions. And his excuse is "well she wanted me gone" so he can lay the blame on her becuase he cheated. In reality he is gone becuase he fucked another women when he had 3 kids at home.

I hope one day he can just admit to himself, if not his kids - that their childhood is ruined because of him.

It's what happened to me. And it's whats happening to them.

I don't truly have any ill intention or feeling towards my brother as a person. But my need to speak up for his kids, who probably are unable to process what is going on, triumphs. It's disgusting that they probably take decades to figure out why the feel so awful - just as it has been for me and all 3 of my brothers. We all feel it.This brother in question will deny how much it effected him - but it's clear as day. He is still suffering from the "being lied to" problem which i wrote about in my last post. He still thinks "well dad was kinda around, he did his best" and he still puts the feelings of our Dad and step mum before his own. He never has spoken about how it effected him. EVER. and by not speaking it meant he didn't understand and now he has done to them what happened to him,me and all my brothers.

If i said any of this to him, he'd defend my dad and step mum. He'd deny my feelings and say "you cannot feel that way, because if you feel that thne tat upsets dad" and so again, it'll be that my dads feelings and my stepmums feeling comes before mine. The story of my life since I was 6 years old.

I know I probably come across as very strident or aggressive here. but you must understand (if anyone is reading?). I have kept this all bottled up since a child. I've been through a lot of emotional suffering over the past 23 years. And it's all becoming clear to me why. and I need to write this stuff out as naturally as I can. It's time I started being honest with my feelings, right? And not being scared of being told off for hurting someone elses feelings.

I was lied to. Dad didn't "stick around". he left me. He doesn't give a shit. You could say he simply doesn't understand and is ignorant of the effect it had on me. but im sick and tired of making excuses for him. I am upset, angry and feel abandoned by him.

And every friend of mine that didn't have their dad, is like me. We all yhave the same fucking emotional problems, same fucked up drug dependancies, same feelings of fear and nnot feeling loved by anyone. My frined says he only feels love from his dogs. Which you could "well thats pretty normal". and if you say that, fuck you. He is a human and he has a heart of gold. He does feel loved, but it has to be re-inforced constantly for him to feel it. And when he gets in abusive relationships - he thinks he deserves that abusive relationshp. Why? Becuase when your dad leaves you when your young, it creates this deep rooted feeling of feeling unloved and worse - unlovable. IF you in your most infant state is not lovable, then you could never be lovable.

Being an adult and seeing how adults disregard the feelings of those who are too young to understand - kills me. It happened to me, i know what its like.

I am childless, so what do I know right? Well, what I know is that since I started being honest about how I feel about my Dad - my mental health "therapy" has made a lot of progress. I've learnt that the link between me and all my fked up friends is the no dad present. I've learnt the reason I gravitate towards bad guys, is I have no fucking dad.

In fact, I was reading about "this is england" earlier and it mentioned their something about how the character in the story, has no dad. And it's this lack of a father figure that leads people down these awful roads.

I watched so much fucked up shit over the past 10 years. Nothing illegal of course but just right wing crap. I never believed I was racist nor homophobic or anything - in fact, i found it all just funny. I never once agreed with the bigots - but I wanted to be around them (on podcats and such). I wanted to be part of that "thing". I wanted to belong. I wanted to be apart of something which wouldn't just abandoned me.

This is my life. It's my emotions.

I am not blaming anyone for my actions or what I've done just as I wouldn't give them credit for the good things I've done. However, my life is one where I never spoke about my feelings towards my Dad because of early childhood experiences where I was taught to not express myself or talk about how I feel. Where as my sister, who is my dads daughter - is always encouraged to talk about her feelings and how she feels.

So that is proof that HE HAS IT WITHIN HIM. but not for me.

I want to write the words. I hate him. I don't mean hate, but I don't know how else to express the dislike I have for how he has denied my emotions all my life. I don't want to hurt him, emotionally, but I want him to understand the hurt I feel. How the hell do I tell him the hurt I feel without accidently hurting him? That is the challenge I face.

Another thing I'm angry at my dad and step mum for is the way they turned me against my mum. They always talk so badly of her and they plaed on the fact I didn't ge ton with her fully. If I argued with her, they'd encouage me to move out and get away from her and suc hthings.

They didn't try to help heal my relationship with my mum, they stoked the flames all under the guise of being my friend.

That's my mum and my mum ALWAYS has had my back. from day 1 to today. I literally will hand her £100 rent (which is absolutely fuck all) and she'll hand me back £50. That's my mum. She is 1 in a million. and the fact they cant see how amazing she is, makes me well, i dont care actually - thats their loss. But it makes me angry they thought they could turn me against her.

it makes me angry they always talk about her in a negative light when im there. and they talk about her likes shes stupid or just too angry or unstable. They are nasty little bullies and i guess, sometimes, we buddy buddy up with bullies without realising it.

That women, my step mum, is a homewrecker. Plain and simple.

and it feels good to finally admit thats how i feel

I would never say these things to their face. As iI say, I do not want to hurt them (emotionally or ofc otherwise. violence is not my MO. I attacked 2 people n my life when I was a child and I was defending friends who were being bullied - i regret both instances as I felt embaressed for letting myself lose control)

/ I wouldn't want my dad nor step mum to be upset. But I'd love them to know how I feel.

I'd love my brother to know how it feels. He was a child too, he should know. But he just pretends like it doesn't effect him. I know he has feelings, his problem is he is a coward. But then so am I and so are all my brothers. We're all cowrads. Scared to tell our dad what he did to us fucked up us royally. He fucked off with another women to start a new family... and then his new child, my half-sister, has a life full of love, understanding and everything a child needs. They take interest in her life.

He nevre took interest in our life. In fact my mum had to force him to go to my college open evening and he was complaining the whole time. I wish he didn't come. I remember him getting in the car and saying something like "I bet ur mother said i dont care. right?" and made a joke about it... setting the tone for the evening that it's all about HIM and HIS feelings.

"fuck you" is what i should've said to him.

but i was scared.

maybe next time ill write about the time he attacked me. it only happened one time, but it was fucking terrifying.

[moonwhing]

Just forever laughing to myself that this nerd held back a guy trying to rush through a mirror portal and lead a team into a wizard tower after we handed the wizard over to beholder at some arena and started cutting deals.

Love bards.

Both times we entered the place going "Surprise inspection!" the first time, because we kinda froze and it was the first thing my brother came up with for his drunk character to say and everyone went 150% into selling the bit. The second time, we ran into people in the tower and I decided we might as well try it again. Thankfully the guys downstairs weren't very bright (and I have a +10 to deception)

THAT WIZARD THOUGH. Back forever ago, before life got in the way of our game, we had sent the ghost that came with the tavern/inn/whatever to go look for clues about the treasure of Waterdeep. It was what we were doing at the time and then health and other stuff got in the way.

So YEARS later, as the only one that remembered what happened, I listed off what we did last. Some people had changed characters since then, some people we had invited to our game weren't here anymore, ect. Dad has this wizard come storming in. He's PISSED and seemed VERY powerful. Has our ghost friend trapped and wants us to do a job to make him happy again.

Some people don't really care, some start asking how is this any of their problem, I start asking what this job is and if it'll get our friend back. Suddenly it's MORE jobs and he never said it was only one job to get everything done, everyone is giving this wizard shit for changing this deal or not explaining himself.

We somehow managed to talk him down to one job, more pay, and we got to keep the box the ghost was in while we did the job. He leaves and we've decided he sucks. We go steal the item he wanted and that goes great. Didn't even have to fight, really. The guy I blocked getting into the mirror did get fed to his own mimic though so uh... oops? I just kinda succeeded the block, did hideous laughter, and 2C slipped away with the item while everyone else kept up the inspection lie. Then Vivian didn't know why he was laughing and shoved him at the surprise mimic I found to see if he would still laugh and... yeah. His staff were busy partying in the next room so we took the magic mirror and got the hell out of there.

Wizard comes back the next day. He's... scared now? Seems his apprentice let loose some spell scrolls he was working on that were setup to be alive. And they were coming here.

Why was that any of our problem?

A living fireball spell shows up and started attacking our tavern. We deal with it and I put out the fire. In the distance people are screaming as a living CLOUD OF DAGGERS STARTS MOVING IN. We move inside and we start demanding answers.

He can't undo it. We threaten to toss him outside. He talks us down from that, but we get our pay from the job before and our ghost free. We find out the cloud of daggers is BIG and you have to get up high to find ONE dagger to turn it off. We start talking about tossing him out again, one just wants to outright end him. I get everyone to calm down for a moment.

We talk about many possible ideas. Using the magic mirror with a smaller mirror to get a hand by the dagger switch to end the spell, stealing some flying thing to get closer to the switch to do the same, building cover out of barrels to try and get closer to try any of these. All of them would have the wizard do the final act of using the switch because we were DONE with him and he better pay for his stupidity.

But he talked of other spells. Spells he put our names in so we would be blamed. Somehow.

Then we were suddenly magically pulled into an arena ran by a Beholder. We were going to play a game against the champ. A dungeon building thing where we pulled things from a bag and the results at the end would decide our fate.

If dad hadn't messed up and not given us one of the 3 pieces of paper we'd need to lose I think we would've been doomed. But we won. So we asked for the spells to go away and to go home. They asked to keep the wizard and we shoved him over as he begged.

We returned to our Gold Saucer to find out all the damage from the spells was undone as well.

And so we plotted to go and find a way to his tower as a piece of final payback after all that jerk had done to us.

His apprentice was a CHILD CHAINED TO A CHAIR. We fixed that. I think the alchemists are dealing wizard drugs on the third floor and that's part of the reason this wizard was doing such wild things.

I told them they could keep doing their thing if we could use the tower sometimes. So uh. We get some some money and potions sometimes and in exchange I guess we're helping with drugs now. Whoops.

Anyway, we hate that wizard. And we never even learned his name.

My brother and I are enjoying our characters in our family D&D game, but I think we've decided (thanks to a scary moment where we we all thought we were doomed, so the two of us started joking about character ideas) that we'll be geese somehow in our next game/if something happens to these two.

We don't know HOW we'll make that work yet. Probably reskin one of the bird races or something so we can still be useful, since I'm kinda a driving force in our awkward band of newbies (the fun of being a general text based role player for years, watching/listing to a mix of tabletop shows, and doing just enough research to go "yeah, I can bullshit my way through this" enough to keep the game going for Dad while we get people to work up the nerve to try stuff out themselves ajkshfhgdd)

Either way, I'm loving my tiny Bard that runs a Tavern in Waterdeep and keeps making deals with shady people by promising them sushi made by our Bugbear chef. Our staff may be an ex-cultist warforge robot that adopts every strange creature we come across, but you're always welcome here. We're all a little messed up, so we won't judge.

I do want to try that goose though.

Also I think our group hates wizards now after that guy we just dealt with pfff