#not great but still better than we expected

[heyyallitssatan]

The Justice League were on a planet they didn’t know in a galaxy they couldn’t be bothered to remember, at least they were fairly sure they were still in the universe they were before they left Earth.

They had just arrived and were looking at the charging army of a species they vaguely recognised from the rather threatening video call they received before jumping into hyperspace.

They heard and ship land behind them, and as they turned to look they had one collective thought: oh, Batman’s here, we’ll be okay. Because if they were being perfectly honest with themselves they didn’t have a plan before jumping galaxies, well that’s not entirely true, they had something of a plan, ask them why they had a large laser pointed at Earth, okay maybe the video call and threats were made in retaliation to their equipment being destroyed, and then probably beat the crap out of them.

Honestly, it wasn’t the worst idea they’ve ever walked into battle with. But Batman probably had a better one, and he was here now.

When they watched him step out of the ship by himself, well they went from reassured to down right relieved. He was alone, that meant he had a plan, knew how to execute it, and expected to be home in time to snag one of Alfred’s cookies before the kids got a hold of them.

Batman stepped off the ships runner, and stopped. He just stopped, about a foot from the ship and probably 20 from the league. He was only standing stock still like that for a moment, before the league all watched Robin follow down the runner and stand beside his father.

Alright we’ll Robin’s fine Bats probably just brought him to give him a little more off world experience-

Oh shit is that Red Robin too?

It was, he was typing away on his little wrist screen and without look up came to a stop perfectly aligned with Bats and Robin.

Ok, we that’s not great but they’ll still probably be fine- Oh god fucking dammit!

Signal and Spoiler spill out after them, and the League knows better than to expect anything but the worst case scenario at this point. So when Nightwing flips out after them they weren’t surprised, maybe a little disappointed though.

A few of the more hopeful members still had their fingers crossed when Black Bat and Red Hood stepped out together.

The entire league visibly deflated as the last bats stepped off the platform, they were fucked now, absolutely, definitely, indubitably (that’s a big word for Elmo) fucked.

Suddenly, with moves only speedsters and Diana probably could have tracked, the bats were standing next to them, a one to one ratio of bat to leaguer. They stayed themselves there for just a moment, to watch the army changing at them, before they flipped and flew off, charging back like they weren’t seven kids in spandex running at armed guards numbering in the thousands.

It was another moment of terror induced stupor before the league heard a new voice in their ear.

“Hello,” a voice they knew they knew spoke into their comms, no, not their comms, their minds. The voice was speaking directly into their minds. When none of them jumped at the intrusion they noted they were slightly grateful for J’onn tendency to forget himself and not use words.

“Hello? Can you hear me? Please don’t say anything, just nod your heads.”

They all slowly nodded while glancing around, looking for a body to place the discorporated voice in their minds. Nothing.

“Great,” so the voice saw them, “these aliens have mind controlling powers, but they can only be activated if they hear your voice.”

“So if you speak at all for the remainder of the mission we will be forced to consider you compromised and deal with you accordingly.”

She was terrifyingly calm, some would say almost cheerful, while telling the justice league about how they had to play quiet place during the battle or risk being violently silenced by a colony of bats, because there was no way this voice wasn’t a bat.

“So if any of you don’t think you’ll be able to fighting without your voice please head back to the ship and await instruction.”

No one left.

“Alright then, I’ll patch you through to the rest of them, please standby.”

Noise exploded in their ears, minds? The bats, who they had finally turned their attention back to, were flipping around the battlefield taking out enemies and carrying out near impossible stunts and trick shots and combos. They could be compared to a well oiled machine, if the machine produced murder and quips.

Quips and moves being called out we’re interspersed with calling points, and chirping?

Yup, chirping, they were chirping at each other.

“If you’re just going to stand there can you go ahead and head back to the ship?”

That seemed to snap them out of their daze and into action.

“They’re psychic powers are intense and impressive, but their bodies are frail. Their armour is focused on their chests and heads, they don’t have joints but their limbs are mostly uncovered, their hearts are in the little purple pockets on their backs, where the armour bulges just beneath their heads. The amour is primarily tin so it shouldn’t be hard to get through, avoid the spears though, they’re poison tipped, it shouldn’t affect Martian Manhunter or Wonder Woman but everyone else should be careful, especially…”

She continued rattling off information about their foe and the league finally jumped into action, staying pointedly silent and targeting the points they were told too.

Superman was the first to break.

The battle had been going so well, everyone was working well together and the ability to communicate mentally seemed to curb the need to speak verbally, until Clark got hit with one of those spears and it actually cut him, damn not having a yellow sun here, and he shouted, “OW”. Everyone immediately felt Superman being cut off from the link, so fast some members of the league hadn’t even realised he had spoken.

The more disturbing thing was realising that the line had gone nearly silent, because the chattering bats had gone dead quiet. In the moment it took them to notice the bats had disappeared from the link, Batman, Nightwing, and Robin and snuck up on and incapacitated the man of steel, and he hadn’t noticed.

A little drone flew out to them, strapped superman to it, and flew off back to the bat ship, to be “handled”, whatever the fuck that terrifying word meant.

After that they fell like dominoes, each lasting only a few minutes after the prior hero had fallen.

But the time the army was defeated and a few soldier had been sent back with an official request for diplomacy, written in their language, and the bats were rounding each other up and heading back.

Everyone sitting in various restraints in the bat ship, being carefully looked over by Batwing, was more than a little peeved when they woke up on the ride home. They’re all pretty sure they weren’t mind controlled, that would have meant being conscious long enough to make the connection, so they were rather kissed about being knocked out and restrained.

After they woke up, and answered a battery of questions to Batwing satisfaction, they were released and allowed to roam the ship.

Clark, the first out and first up, went to find Bruce.

“So you brought the kids?” because as irritated as he was, he understood why they did it.

“Of course, I know they can fight silently.”

“And you didn’t trust us?” Clark chanced a smile, trying to show he wasn’t angry.

“Of course not, you’ve never trained to do it, they have, it was a clear cut decision.”

“Yeah… maybe we shouldn’t start running some of those training programs at the watchtower you were talking about.”

“Yes, we should, glad you came around.”

That sat together in a sort of pleasant silence for a minute, before “I’ll bring the kids, they could always use the reminder, and they say the best way to learn is to teach.”

He nodded as he walked off deeper into the ship to find his children and announce their next family trip to the watchtower.

Of the league was fucked.

He heard Red Hood then, in the distance of the ship, “Oh fuck yeah, we’ll show ‘em how to be quiet, right Cass?”

So very very fucked.

I bet the JL has a “how fucked are we” metric that’s literally just how many of Bruce’s kids are there.

Like if he pulls up to the alien invasion or whatever with just Robin, then everything’s fine. More than fine, actually, because Bruce feels comfortable enough to bring his eight year old along for the ride. This battle will take approximately fifteen minutes and they’ll all get shawarma after. Not fucked in the slightest.

But if Red Robin shows up too… hmm, okay, this is getting somewhat serious. Tim is one of Bruce’s most trusted partners; he’s the smart Robin, the tactician, the loyal one, and so if Batman brought him along then it means he’s at least a little bit worried about shit hitting the fan and wants one his advisors around. But the combined brain power of Bruce and Tim is pretty much unmatched (DC plot armor for the win), so everything will be fine, basically. Superman might take a hit, but everything’s going to be fine. Just keep calm and you’ll all make it home in time to Door Dash some Panda Express before it closes. So not that fucked.

It starts to get serious after that. When Signal and Spoiler roll up the scene, shit has definitely hit the fan. Batman’s worried enough to call in reinforcements and he’s probably doubting the League’s ability to listen/obey his orders, so he needs a backup plan in case things go really south. But with Signal’s abilities and Steph’s superpower of turning anything into a joke, chances are you’ll be okay. Maybe impaled or something, but okay. But still, fucked.

When Nightwing shows, the JL knows it’s starting to get dicey out on the field. See, Nightwing’s got his own team, his own issues—the fact that he set that all aside to help out his dad is cause for concern. On a scale from 1-10, they are at a 7. Above moderately fucked.

And… oh God. Black Bat? Most of the time the JL doesn’t even see her, but once she makes herself known and starts fighting alongside her siblings, they all start to silently freak out. Black Bat is a fucking machine and if she’s breaking a sweat trying to fight the Big Bad, things are definitely not going to go well. They start praying that Batman figures something out. They freak out. They are intrinsically fucked.

But God Forbid you catch sight of the Red Hood. The prodigal son is a legitimate killer, and if Batman’s letting him blow out brains then the JL knows he’s desperate. And a desperate Batman is not good. At all. They are definitely fucked.

[eliza-and-her-monsters]

the tortured poets department

a story told in multiple parts

vi x reader

Info Post

Moodboards

Contains: college au, dark/light academia, writer reader, singer reader, neurodivergent/autistic reader (i’m autistic so i’m writing from my own experiences), sporty vi, hockey player vi, big sister caitlyn, best friend ellie williams, roommate ellie williams, will contain other familiar characters you know and love as well as some potential ocs. no use of y/n, reader does have a name because it’s just easier for me to write that way 🖤 ALSO- Jayce is aged down because I want him to be 😌

WC: 4.5k

TW: talk of severe mental illness and brief mention of psychiatric facilities

A/N: chapter one is officially live! if you’re just stumbling across this and haven’t checked the main info post yet please do for more info! hope you enjoy! 🖤

part I

you’re on your own, kid

Whenever most people got acceptance letters to Oxford they were ecstatic, elated, overjoyed. Somehow whenever I got mine all I felt was a sense that I had failed. It was a juxtaposition of course, it was always expected from my family that I attend the same university they had and every other generation before them had. So in a way I had done the opposite, just maybe not in the right order, and a hefty amount of rejection letters in my midst. Including the one currently being held in my shaky hand right now.

Ms. Kiramman,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to our publication house. Unfortunately right now we are unable to offer you an opportunity for further publication.

“Please, they wouldn’t know good literature if it hit them in the face.” Caitlyn scoffed from her spot next to me as the student shuttle jostled us in our row of seats.

“Is every other publication house that denied me unable to recognize good literature as well?” I whispered from where my cheek stayed pressed to her shoulder.

I know what a lot of you were probably thinking at first glance, but Caitlyn was a good big sister. She was harsh, severely left brained, exactly everything our parents wanted in a child, and quite possibly the polar opposite of me. But in all honesty she was my best friend. My biggest supporter whenever my parents weren’t. It was her who had harassed all of those literary agents to even get me the chance to submit my works to publication houses in the first place because I was too scared to do it. And it was I who failed every single time.

“Yeah actually, they are. Honestly Mills, there’s so much trash in modern day poetry right now you might be better off.” She sighed, reaching a hand over to click my phone off slowly as the shuttle rumbled to a stop. “This is you!” She tried to plaster on a fake cheery voice with a pat on my back as if to get me to finally lift my head where my cheek was already an irritated red for being hid in her sweater.

“I still don’t get why you couldn’t just let Ellie and I take the extra room in that big student house you just moved into.” I huffed, lifting a hand to readjust my glasses before rising up to my feet and reaching for one of the suitcases carelessly tossed on one of the adjacent rows of seats.

“Because lovey, you need to make some of your own friends. This is uni, Millie, we’re both in completely different colleges and I just- I don’t want you to get too lonely.” She frowned, glancing back at me as she rolled the other suitcase behind her. “You guys don’t wanna room with a bunch of upperclassmen anyways.”

“I do have my own friends, I have Ellie.”

“As much as she is a great roommate, friends besides Ellie, it’s good to have more than just two whole people on campus to talk to.” Caitlyn pressed on just before striding towards the entrance, leaving me feeling like I needed to speed walk just to keep up given the fact she was nearly a foot taller as well.

The student apartments were definitely nicer than the usual underclassman dorms. In all honesty I really should’ve been grateful, it was just another luxury of being a Kiramman. Whenever your parents paid for half of the buildings on campus you usually got better accommodations. Not that either of them originally liked the idea of me even rooming with Ellie. A loudmouthed foreign exchange student from America I met during another one of those incredibly expensive wellness retreats my parents sent me on to see if they could find a ‘cure’ for what was actually just a heavy amount of autism and severe ADHD.

The only person who really seemed to understand that there wasn’t one and it was just simply who I was was Caitlyn. To a degree as much as she could at least. Sometimes though I could tell she forgot.

“I think Ellie said she beat us a while ago.” She chimed in as we approached the door decorated with a slightly chipped gold number.

“She got here early because of hockey stuff.” I answered, already bouncing on the balls of my feet to see how she had managed to make the flat into a sea of chaos already. She wasn’t exactly the cleanest person, luckily her energy seemed to mesh with mine easily enough though.

“Oh! You never mentioned she made the hockey team! I know a few girls on the team you could probably talk to.” She shot a hopeful smile back at me before lifting a fist to knock on the door.

It swung open before she could even make a second tap to reveal a frazzled looking Ellie haphazardly clutching a hockey stick. “Thank God you’re here! I was trying to practice my swing and- fuck, we are so not getting that deposit back, Millie.”

“Oh dear god.” Caitlyn cursed, already wincing in dread before stepping through the door into the messy flat. “I’m sure our dad can- do something. What did you manage to break and why on earth did you decide practicing your swing indoors was a good idea?”

“For your information I didn’t break anything! There’s just a- tiny dent in the wall.”

I hummed a bit to myself as I stepped over the plethora of unpacked bags currently covering the floor. “It’s definitely more than tiny.” I chimed in as I poked at the noticeable dent in the drywall.

Caitlyn released a long and heavy breath and shook her head, as if to try and keep herself from making her own dent in the wall. “It’s totally fine. I’ll just- say that it was there whenever you guys moved in!” She shrugged with another anxious clear of her throat as she pulled my luggage in behind her. “Which room is free, Els?”

“Oh, I gave her the room in the front. I know she likes it dark and the lighting in there sucks.” Ellie answered as she shuffled off behind us. “There is one window in there that can get pretty killer in the mornings.”

I tensed a bit at the sight of the double window facing towards the bed. Yet another one of the aggravating little quirks that came with my neurodivergency, light sensitivity. As far as I could remember I always preferred the darkest of places. And now Caitlyn was cursing again, rushing towards me to take my hands into her own as if I was already on the verge of panic.

“It’s okay- I can get you a pair of a blackout curtains asap and you know how dreary it is in Oxford anyways-“

“Caity- it’s fine. I’m not going to have a meltdown over a window.” I interrupted her ramble with a shake of my head. Sometimes I felt like she still thought I was that same teenage girl that didn’t have a handle on her emotions. Not that I was far from it exactly. Now I was just an almost 20 year old girl who had a slight hold on her emotions. That’s what the writing was for.

Her eyes still held the same amount of concern though, getting that same little crinkle in between her brows as she nodded. “Okay, I’m still getting you blackout curtains though.”

“They’ll definitely be appreciated.” I said with a forced tiny smile.

“Well, I really wish I could stay and help you unpack but I have a meeting with the Brooks Society and everything but… I really do hope I’ll see you both tonight at the pub for fresher’s week?” She grinned hopefully once more as she squeezed the life out of my hands.

“Oh, I-I don’t know. We’ve barely settled in and-”

“I’m down.” Ellie chimed in from behind me as she trotted back into the door frame. “I’m gonna be relishing in the fact I finally don’t need a fake.”

“Ellie…” I groaned as I shot her a glare over my shoulder.

“What? Mills, it’s the first day of fresher’s week, we might as well be committing a crime by not going out tonight!” She exclaimed with a dramatic throw of her hands in the air.

“It’s true, and as much as I would love to keep you away from my degenerate friends, well, it might be good for you.” Caitlyn agreed with another casual shrug.

“You’re not gonna give me a choice, are you?” I questioned causing her to shoot a knowing look towards Ellie over my shoulder.

“Probably not.” She answered before stealing a look down at the expensive watch wrapped around her wrist. “Well, I’ve gotta go but… you’ll text me if you need anything, right? I don’t want you to feel like you can’t because of what I said earlier because you always can I just-“

“Caity- it’s fine. I’m fine, I promise. I- I’ll see you tonight.” I stammered in hesitation, and I’d definitely be hearing about it later. But luckily right now she seemed willing to just let things go.

“Okay, good… great. Now- get in here, pipsqueak!” She exclaimed, the familiar nickname she had been calling me since she hit her growth spurt and I yet to do so making me roll my eyes as she pulled me into a tight hug. One of those sisterly hugs I always clung onto a bit longer. Ever since I was younger no place had felt safer than Caitlyn. And in so many ways sometimes I looked at her as being more than a mom than our actual mom. I knew I needed to find other safe places though. “I love you, you know that right? I promise. This is going to be a good thing.”

“I love you too, Caity.” I sighed softly as I felt her lips press to the top of my head before the two of us pulled away.

“Els, take care of my baby sister or else I’ll have your head on a stick? Got it?”

“Crystal?” Ellie finally spoke up again with wide eyes as her hand made the ‘okay’ symbol.

“Good.” Caitlyn spoke before trotting back off towards the front door, “I’ll see you both tonight and send you the details.” And with a charming smile she was headed out.

Ellie instantly let out a shiver the moment the door closed. “Has anyone ever told you that your sister’s scary as fuck?”

“Many times.” I answered simply just in time to see Ellie’s face fall ever so slightly.

“So, I’m guessing it was a no from the latest publication house?”

“How could you guess?” I frowned as I slumped against the wall like I was going to resign myself to the floor.

“You had that aire of discouraged defeatism whenever you walked in.” She explained as she sidled up to me. “Cheer up, Mills, modern poetry is so cringeworthy nowadays you might be better off going for songwriting anyways.” She added as she gently rubbed at my clothed arms.

“If I can’t even get a publication house to take me seriously then what makes you think I can actually get a songwriting deal?” I spoke as I finally pushed myself off of the wall.

“One of the most popular songs out right now literally has the lyrics, ‘that’s that me, espresso’ in it.” She rolled her eyes a bit to herself as she finally knelt down to grab the bags she had still yet to unpack.

“No Sabrina Carpenter slander in this apartment, Williams. You know I’m an OG. And I can relate to desperation.” I frowned in embarrassment as I crossed my arms across my chest.

“Yeah yeah yeah, come and help me unpack, will you? Maybe we can find you something to wear tonight.”

“What’s wrong with what I have on?” I exclaimed almost in mild offense as I gestured towards the outfit that definitely had been hastily picked out. But it wasn’t like it wasn’t cute- ish at least.

“Nothing, but care bear sweaters and leggings seems more like a comfy day outfit than a ‘going out to the pub’ outfit.”

“I thought it was going to be a comfy day until you completely blew my cover!”

“Sorry babe, but I agree with your scary as fuck sister on this one. You need to get out more. Experience the pleasures of fresher’s week and you can take that in any way you want!” She shot a wink over her shoulder as she made her way down the skinny hallway to kick open her own door where a brutal floor to ceiling window already angrily cast its light on the room causing me to flinch.

“We could always pretend to be girlfriends again if you want people to leave you alone in a, you know, romantic way.” Ellie added as she rushed across the room to pull the curtains shut and pat the empty space on her bed. Probably the only time it’d actually be made all semester.

“Nah, if we do that too many times people will know we’re lying so best not to even start.” I answered as I took a seat on the side of her bed.

“Well if that’s the case, how does this shirt look with… this flannel? What do you think? Chick magnet?” She grinned before whipping out a red and black checkered flannel from the mostly empty closet and pulling it on over the basic black band tee she already wore with a flourish.

“Maybe if they’re emo?” I said with a little shrug as I scanned the band logo on her t-shirt causing her to groan in defeat.

“Still… somehow… always chronically bitchless.” She voiced before plopping down on the squeaky university issued beds. Though we were at least lucky enough to have double beds, it definitely wouldn’t leave anything to the imagination if either of us decided to do any nsfw activities in them. Somehow I didn’t feel like we’d have that problem though.

“Shush, you’re not chronically bitchless. You have me!” I teased as I gave her shoulder a playful shove where she dramatically flopped onto her back.

“So bitchless then?” She reiterated with a lifted brow as she glanced over at me.

“At least you’ve actually managed to kiss a girl once or twice.” I scowled as I inched over onto my side. Already catching myself pulling closer towards her.

“Just so we’re clear, I did offer.”

“Yeah, only to get your first kiss out of the way.” I scoffed, though I curled up to her either way. Closing my eyes as I placed my head on her chest I hadn’t realized how tired I had felt in the past 24 hours. They had been rough, a sea of anxiety and those exact meltdowns that Caitlyn was afraid of me having and her not being there to talk me down from.

“And? The offer never stopped standing.” She spoke just before I could feel her arms wrapping around me.

“Good to know, Els, I’ll let you know if I ever need to get a pity kiss from my best friend.”

“Oh shut up, it’s not a pity kiss. It’s me doing you a solid.” She remarked, as she nudged my foot with her leg. “You manage to get any sleep last night?” She wondered just before letting her hands trace soothing circles on my back. I only shook my head as I felt the sting behind my eyes before I could even take any steps to stop it. The way you felt whenever you were already on the verge all day and someone finally asks if you’re okay. Curling my fingers into her flannel the annoying tears already soaked into the fabric of her shirt. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

A shake of my head only followed, I didn’t know how to put anything into words really. How to explain to people that just wouldn’t understand no matter how much they meant well and wanted to. How was someone even supposed to explain the fact that you were one of the most celebrated families of the most prestigious university in England yet somehow you still felt like the only person who didn’t belong here sat on top of a mountain of rejection letters? Perhaps you could rather easily. But to actually say the words ‘I’m pretty sure I only got in because I’m a Kiramman’ were a whole different story. It’s why I took all those years off in the first place. I wanted to delay the inevitable of my dad paying off the admissions directors again while staring at me with the level of disappointment he never had to with Caitlyn.

I hadn’t even realized the simple tears had turned into full out sobs until I heard Ellie’s gentle shush from above me and her arms holding me even tighter to her chest as she did so. “You’re gonna be okay, Mills. I promise. We’re gonna be just fine.”

~

I hadn’t even noticed I had dozed off until my eyes cracked open again, noticeably faced away from the window and tucked underneath Ellie’s covers. My glasses sat propped up on her bedside dresser already casting a noticeable blur of the world around me. Meanwhile hushed voices seemed to speak from out in the hallway, walls much too thin to hide the noise.

Fighting back a yawn I shoved myself up onto my elbow to wipe at my dysfunctional eyes before stretching a hand out to pluck my glasses from the nearby table. Though I only jumped as the door was pushed open and Caitlyn’s tall figure popped up into view. “Hey pipsqueak, Ellie told me you weren’t feeling the best after I left.” She said carefully as she grabbed my glasses to hand them over.

“I wished she wouldn’t have.” I grumbled as I slid them onto my face only to hug my knees to my chest and glue my eyes to the bedsheets below.

“Why not? Isn’t that exactly what I told you to do? Mills, I would’ve stayed-”

“But- I-I don’t wanna keep you from your responsibilities anymore, Caity!” I exclaimed with a frustrated groan, already digging at my eyes again while my head only throbbed from the aftermath. “I don’t want you to have to tell this really important college society that you can’t be there for your obligations because your mentally ill sister needs you to rescue her again!”

“You are my responsibility, Amelia!” She snapped, the use of my rarely spoken full name making me wince as she pointed a stern finger at me. “You will always be my number one priority because I’m your big sister and it’s my job to protect you, no matter what. And I don’t care what kind of deep shit I get into with the criminology department, okay? Because you come first, always!”

I tried to gulp back the same pathetic tears, but it turns out after you cry yourself to sleep for the millionth time maybe there really is a limit. “I didn’t miss anything, did I?” I spoke up after a moment of silence, feeling Caitlyn’s arm stretch around my shoulder as she took the spot next to me.

“No, but I did do some thinking and if you really don’t wanna go then I don’t wanna pressure you.” She frowned, almost looking down in mild guilt until I leaned my head against her shoulder.

“No… I do. I wanna go and make friends and new experiences and- t-try to be normal.”

“Lovey, you are normal. It’s the world that isn’t.” Caitlyn frowned as she leaned her head against mine. Thankfully she only hesitated a moment though before she cleared her throat and spoke again, “If you wanna go though we should probably start getting ready. If you want me to help you?”

“Maybe you can help me figure out what to wear? And do my hair in those little braids with the clips? And help me with my eyeliner?”

Caitlyn snickered a bit as I lifted my head from her shoulder. “The eyeliner might be a little tricky but I can certainly try. Are you forgetting the prom incident where I quite literally gave you an eye infection?”

“That was definitely just because of the glitter.” I shrugged before swinging my legs over the side of the bed and finally pushing myself up to my feet.

“The eyeliner pen straight to the cornea certainly didn’t help.” She reiterated.

Despite the various complications of having two not at all femme lesbians help me get ready though, I don’t think I looked too terrible afterwards. I had settled on a simple black dress that fell just above the knee with little bows sat atop the straps. English autumns could either be comfortable or frigid though and the current temperature definitely wasn’t comfortable so Ellie tossed me one of her blue flannels to wear over top. Of course claiming it’d be a calling card for all of the hot lesbians, if they didn’t assume we were together first.

Calling the pub a ‘pub’ in an of itself was definitely generous. Besides the one or two older people having their relaxing evening out ruined by the loudmouthed 18+ filling the joint it felt more like a club than anything. Music blasted from the speakers as we stepped inside, Caitlyn on one side with a protective arm around my shoulders and Ellie on the other who looked more and more like she was never returning to America by the second.

Caitlyn immediately dragged us downstairs where most of the students had taken over. It wasn’t hard to figure out which group of friends were hers. It was the largest one, who had currently swallowed the entire center of the room it seemed filling up leather stools and couches with red decorative pillows. “Oi! Cait! Over here!” A familiar voice echoed from the large group, popping his head over everyone and waving the lot of us over.

“Jayce? I thought he finished his masters last year.” I tried to speak over the noise where Caitlyn wrinkled her nose in response.

“He did, guess the old man just can’t get enough of us.” She answered, giving my arm a comforting squeeze as she pulled me along beside her.

The group was probably the most eccentric lot I had ever seen as we approached the cluttered table. Covered in empty and full beer bottles and other fruity drinks along with half burnt out cigarettes. A spread of tarot cards belonging to a skinny girl with the longest and brightest blue hair I had ever seen was currently being scooped up as well causing my eyes to widen in curiosity. A chorus of Caitlyn’s name followed as usual, the usual life of the party whenever I wasn’t there and she didn’t have to babysit. I had almost managed to successfully tune most of the chaotic noise out though until I heard my name followed by the tightening of Caitlyn’s arm around my shoulders once more.

“Lads, this is my baby sister, Amelia. Treat her well or else I’ll kill you slowly and painfully.” She said with a little grin just as a stool was pulled out from where a pink haired individual sat manspreading on the plush couch.

“Have a seat, cupcake, we don’t bite.” The girl smirked as she sat forward almost curiously. Also an American.

“I especially mean that towards you, Vi.” Caitlyn’s expression morphed into a glare as she watched me cautiously lower myself onto the seat like it was going to give out below me any second. “Oh, and this is Ellie- Ellie Williams. Also a fresher. Ellie, Mills, this is… Jinx, Ekko, Jesse, Dina, you obviously know Jayce, Abby-”

“Bitch.” Ellie mumbled underneath her breath causing my eyes to widen for the thousandth time as she took the open seat next to me. “She totally knocked my lights out during practice today.”

“You have to have at least one light on to have them knocked out, Williams.” The muscular woman stated as she brought a glass of amber liquid up towards her mouth.

“Wow, didn’t realize hockey rivalries on the same team were a thing.” Caitlyn fought back a laugh as she went to take an empty seat of her own.

“Oh you have no idea.” Ellie grumbled a bit to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Williams? She yours?” Vi cleared her throat as she nodded in my direction.

“Who? Amelia? I-I mean I wouldn’t complain but we’re just friends.” She answered immediately causing Vi’s eyebrows to lift.

“So- no intense feelings you guys are harboring or anything?” She questioned again as she stole glances between the two of us.

“Unless there’s something she’s not telling me?” Ellie wondered with a lifted brow as she looked towards me as if in confirmation. And it was then I realized how tightly I was clutching onto her hand below the table.

It wasn’t as if the two of us hadn’t thought about it. It wasn’t as if I had spent a solid number of nights in her bed whenever things got really tough. Ultimately though we had decided what we had as best friends was far too intense or precious to fuck up over a relationship. And also just the sheer fact that dating somebody you met in a psychiatric facility disguised as a ‘wellness retreat’ was probably a bad idea.

“No, just best friends.” I answered in a small voice with a simple shrug.

“Okay, so you won’t mind if I buy her a drink then?”

“Careful Vi.” Caitlyn growled from her spot on the couch across from her.

“Ummm, can you buy me a song on the jukebox instead?” I asked, and to my surprise a series of impressed sentiments filled the table. My eyes only furrowed in confusion however as I peered towards Ellie or Caitlyn for help, “What?”

“Because Millie, that was smooth as fuck.“ Ellie answered almost drawing a little laugh from my end.

“Lucky for you, doll, I can buy you both.” Vi spoke as she held a bruised hand out for me to take.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel any butterflies blooming in my chest at her words. The feeling of my heart kickstarting as I placed my hand in hers and let her lead me towards the bar. Her hand was warm and rough in my own, calloused but not in the way Ellie’s were from the constant plucking on her guitar. They were calloused in a far more aggressive way. I should’ve known I was heading towards my own demise in that moment. Falling down a hole I’d lose myself entirely in. An electric pull on my heartstrings that kept me close to her.

Fuck, I should’ve known it was only the start.

A/N: I AM SOOOOO EXCITED TO GET THIS UP!!!! I wanna know all your thoughts!! Tell me everything!! I’m so so SO beyond excited to write more of this I’m screaming!!

Also- psa I know a ton of characters don’t talk/aren’t really in this one. I promise they will be further on! Just need to get an establishing shot first! 🖤

[bigfan-fanfic]

Worth More than Gold (Reader x Laios Touden)

@alex126486 Reader first meeting laios in gold scraping , reader listens laios fascination on monsters and what they tasted like then asking he could cook one for him one day

"Do you remember? Back when we first started out with gold scraping?" You chuckle over at the tallman.

Laios doesn't look up from where he sits preparing the rest of the vegetables from Senshi's garden for you to fry up with the last of the basilisk meat and egg you're making. "Remember what?"

it's always been exciting being around Laios.

You were one of the Touden Party's three mages. Marcille with her explosive fire specialty, Falin with her cleric powers, and you with a specialty in protection and gnomish magic.

You once worked together with him as part of a gold-scraping band.

And it was then that he began talking to you all about his fascination towards monsters.

Little facts about the creatures you would face.

And when you gave no indication of disgust, Laios took the opportunity and ran with it, happily expounding upon monster features for hours upon end.

And when it became clear that you enjoyed his sessions of information -

he began to speculate with you about how monsters tasted.

Would a cockatrice taste more like chicken or more like reptile?

Do strangling plants have sweeter fruits than man-eating plants?

"Who knows? Maybe one day I'll cook you one."

Laios' jaw dropped, and he looked almost about to cry before he nodded seriously.

"That sounds great! What are you thinking of cooking?"

And years later, after traveling with Senshi deeper and deeper into the dungeon, you remember your offhand little promise.

"I once said I'd cook a monster for you. Way back when we were gold scraping."

Laios beams, and you know he never forgot. "I did! I didn't think you had."

"I hadn't, til just now. It must be so much fun for you to discover all the answers to the questions you've had."

Laios nods. "It's a dream come true!"

He glances over at a glum Marcille. "Though of course, saving Falin's the top priority."

"Of course." You nod. "Though if I can be honest, I've really enjoyed the stuff you and Senshi have made."

"That's great!"

"I know Marcille and Chilchuck tend to be squeamish about it-"

("Hey!" Marcille whines)

"-but I dunno. So-called 'normal' animals are pretty weird and gross too, but we eat them. Farming can be nasty too, what with fertilizer, but we don't consider crops gross. It's all just... part of a cycle. If you can make it taste good and it's safe to eat, then why not?"

Laios looks at you with something akin to awe. Chilchuck and Marcille look as though they have lost an ally to madness.

"Anyway, try this. I wanna know if I seasoned it enough." You hurriedly say, seeing Laios still looking at you with that strange expression.

He opens his mouth, seemingly expecting you to... feed him?

So you do, resting the chunk of cooked egg and meat on his tongue, feeling his mouth close around your fingers.

So innocuous, but so intimate, your fingertips compressed as his mouth moves from them, slipping out from the corners.

Part of you is going crazy, thinking one thought - that you've just put your fingers in a teammate's mouth and he just... ate from them. His lips touched your fingers.

His eyes flash up to yours. "Mmmmmm! That's perfectly seasoned."

"Oh! Uh... good." you feel your face heating. Chilchuck smirks over at you. "Good. Those vegetables, then?"

He happily hands them to you.

"Thank you."

"Hmm?"

"For keeping your promise. For cooking. For feeding me."

It's an odd way of phrasing it, but you enjoy the sentiment. "You are welcome, Laios... anytime."

He grins, and leans in close. "You might even be better at cooking than Senshi. It might just be that tallmen have different palates and spices they like, but I love it when you cook."

"I, uh... thanks. That means a lot."

You all but flee to prepare the stir-fry, lowering your gaze, smiling to yourself.

Maybe nothing happened yet, and he's just being nice.

But the friend you've had a crush on since those days of gold-scraping has just practically kissed your hand and complimented your cooking.

And that is worth far more than any gold.

[misettemisette]

Starting over in Madrid

Hey, I'm back after having my account terminated. I'm starting to repost my fanfic Starting over in Madrid episode by episode. I've done minor corrections, mostly vocabulary, scenario temporality and pictures that weren't working well.

Feel free to read or reread it and gave me your feedback. We can't say it enough but we, writers, love feedback <3

Chapter 1 ➺  A harder job than I thought

Summary : After moving to Madrid as the new Real Madrid photographer, Nicky's eyes can't look away from the pretty face of Misa Rodriguez. But how is she going to handle her growing desire for the Canarian goalkeeper when her working contract's strictly forbidding her to date players?  1K words TW : None

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I was never really interested in football before being employed at Real Madrid. Of course, I used to watch a few games on TV during the main championships. But I had never intended to work for a football club, least of all in Spain. But here I was, late twenties, speaking a few words of Spanish, entering the Ciudad Real Madrid for day one of my new job as the new official photographer.

Introductions went well. Staff was nice. Work seemed interesting, with quite a lot to do on the creative side. I felt great. My office was located on the second floor on the west side of the building, a bit apart from the training grounds. I took a few minutes to settle in my chair, gazed through the window at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium and saw the tiny silhouettes of the footballers training. My manager, Ana, came to have me introduced to the girls and I quickly grabbed my camera to follow her to the pitch. 

The winter sun, cold but bright, blinded me as I came out. My eyes took a moment to adjust, shouts of trainers and players echoing all around. There were far more people than I expected, making me feel intimidated but Ana didn’t let me time to relax. She talked with some guys to interrupt training and the players slowly came toward us. They gathered around us, some of them still panting when Ana spoke again. 

"Hello everyone, let me introduce you to our new photographer Y/N. But you can call her Nicky as she likes it better." 

"Hi, I never liked my name", I said nervously. 

The girls stared at me, some of them smiling friendly. I couldn’t help but notice their muscular arms and thighs. Strength oozed from their bodies. There were pretty faces among them too. Ana told me the names of each player. The last one, a very tanned girl, was looking away, looking slightly bored. 

"And finally, this is Misa", she said pointing at her. Misa looked at me, her dark eyes resting on my face for just a moment while she quickly waved her hand in a welcoming gesture before she looked away again. She was really pretty and I felt my face grew hot. I was a professional photographer. It was explicitly written in my employment contract that dating the team members was prohibited. I shook away my inappropriate feelings as the introducing part ended.

A few days passed as I settled in my new life. I had found a tiny apartment in Lavapiés. Got everything I needed. I was rather happy to start over. I had quit my toxic ex-girlfriend a few months ago and my very boring previous job. Each day, I went to the pitch to film the team arriving and to take pictures of the footballers training in order to post on the social media. They all seemed nice, though some of them looked bothered to be photographed all the time. Linda, Naomi, Sofie and Hayley clearly enjoyed being in front of the camera while Ivana, Olga and Misa tried to avoid it most of the time. We chatted very little, everyone focused on their respective work. 

***

Then came the day of the big photoshoot for brand-new kits. It was a very busy day. Adidas had designed a specific set with a moss background and real plants around. It was a bit too much for my taste but I didn’t have my word to say as the campaign was managed by the brand. I was assisting the Adidas photographer by giving pose instructions to the girls. I took some shoots too. 

We were shooting for nearly five hours when Misa’s turn came. I couldn’t say I didn’t notice how attractive she was in her new pale purple kit. Her tan skin contrasted sharply with the fabric. She had a piercing on her left nostril I’d never seen before. Her long hair was let down, falling on her broad shoulders. She took her place, clearly used to being a model.

"Misa, face the camera", I said. Her dark eyes crossed mine before she looked straight at the camera and composed a smile. I could tell she was feeling confident, but I wasn’t sure she was really enjoying it. "Switch to profile, please". "Strike a pose". "Now put your gloves on". Misa obediently took pose after pose. 

"Are we done yet?" she asked, looking at me patiently. 

"I think we are thank you. Thanks God you’re the last one !" 

"I find it tiring already, so I can’t imagine how it must be for you." She said, her brows frowning. She walked aside from the set. I started to put away the equipment next to her. "It’s okay, I like my job. Today is just a bit repetitive"

"Are we cool models ?" I looked up at her. Her face had relaxed since the photoshoot ended. A shy smile appeared on her lips as she suddenly seemed to think her question was embarrassing. 

"In fact yes, indeed. Like, as a photographer, there is everything to adjust. When you’re training, you’re moving fast so I have to increase shutter speed. When you’re posing like today, the shutter can be slower but you need good exposure…" My voice trailed off as I took a glimpse of her perplex expression. "Sorry I have never known how to talk about my job. You see, technical aspects play a huge part in photography." 

"Don’t worry, I haven’t a clue of what you are taking about but it actually got me interested." She was smiling frankly now and that made her ever more beautiful. I tried to focus one folding the spotlights back in there bags. "Those lights make you very warm and sweaty" she said. "I’ll go change. See you Nicky." 

“Bye Misa.”

I was feeling both disappointed by her departure and relieved to be able to finish tidying things up more serenely when I heard Misa’s embarrassed voice rise from the backroom. "Hum… please can someone help me?"

I dropped the camera I was packing and went there thinking that fucking day would never end. I suppressed a laugh when I saw Misa struggling with her jersey over her head. The collar was picked up somewhere around her nose. I forced myself to look away from her well shaped abs and the low-cut of her sports bra.

"Misa, it’s Nicky, what’s happening ?" 

"The jersey… in my nose ring. I can’t take it off !"

"Hold still, I’do it."

I slowly came closer to Misa and delicately held the jersey’s collar while looking for where her piercing had gotten stuck. A fabric fiber had indeed been taken inside the small golden ring. I tried hard to concentrate. Her mouth was twitching nervously. I was so close to her face, I could feel her breath. She pursed her luscious lips as I finally removed the string, let out a sigh and took off the jersey. Her eyes met mine again while I took a step back. "Thanks, I thought I’d lose my nose on this one…" 

"You did well to ask for help, you could have hurt yourself." 

"I’m glad it was you and not some random Adidas guy. All my friends are gone by now." 

"Anytime !" I shrugged, feeling hot again. She gathered her clothes and started taking off her shorts. Footballers really weren’t modest. I turned around, ready to leave. I felt I was unable to take anymore glances at Misa’s body parts. "Bye then" I said softy.

"Bye, and Nicky, you definitely have to teach me some photo stuff! I’m serious." I slowly turned back to her. She had already put her trousers and T shirt on. "Yes, sure… after tomorrow’s training if you’d like." 

"Yeah, count on me."

She gathered her stuff, gestured goodbye, and left. 

My job was turning out to be harder than I expected.

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[motelroomjesus]

whooo I finished ep 4 and 5 of The Heart Killers

I still don't like Kant, I'm warming up to Bison, still obsessed with FadelStyle, and I want Style carnally.

I'm also really interested in how they're using the music and soundtrack to emphasize the emotions of some scenes.

This post is about to be longer than my usual since it's covering two eps but anyway

Spoilers under the cut !

Me when I overanalyze my BL:

First and foremost, that pat down scene in ep 4 where Fadel maintained eye contact with Kant as he searched him... How do u put that there and expect ppl to not imagine things, Jojo..... 😫 Even the goofy music in the background couldn't dissuade me from thinking they should hate fuck ☝️ but anyway

It's very obvious that while Style isn't fully committed and his feelings for Fadel are just starting to bloom, he definitely wants that man. Atp where we are in ep 4 he's obviously lusting after that man (face economy, body tea). I mean he gave him, apparently, the best sex of his life in a grief meeting storage room. He let the man cut his little crop top off. The lust of it all is so real. But I think now, after the chase, after spending more time with him, especially after hearing how Fadel was asking where he was, he's pursuing Fadel with more sincere intentions and I think he truly wants to know Fadel more. And lord have mercy, that scene in the woods.

That scene in the abandoned warehouse in the woods, aside from the iconic "I don't like that I miss you", is when I first noticed the soundtrack specifically highlighting the emotions. Now, I know soundtracks are meant to do that but I think they're doing it in a really fun way IDK They put a lighthearted cute, and low-key hopeful, little tune over a heated make out and handjob. It felt like it reflected their emotions in that moment really well and how the audience is meant to see the scene. It's not just a hot and heavy make out session because yay official, it's an indicator of a turning page, especially for Fadel. It's a signal that he can get butterflies in his stomach too, even with his enormous walls and stoic mask (defense mechanism), and I'm sticking to that interpretation. I love u my emotionally and sexually repressed little hitman.

And then Kant came in and decided NOW is the perfect time to finally tell his friend that oh yeah ur new bf is a hitman. It's not even that part that actually annoyed me, it's the little quip when Style says gunman instead of hitman. Like I'll kill u with a gun Kant. 😭

I fear I may never truly warm up to him, he is so annoying to me. 😔

Okay so ep 5, I kind of warmed up to Bison. He's cute he's fun, he's totally ignoring his instincts about Kant even tho he knows better. He seems less than helpful in most scenarios though, but whatever

There were two scenes that caught my attention and they were obviously meant to:

1) Kant and Bison post coital cuddles

2) Style and Fadel's intimacy towards the end of the ep

I'm mostly talking about the music again and the intentional use (or absence) of it. During the KantBison scene, when Bison is being so gentle with his kisses and telling Kant tender words, the music reaches a subtle crescendo once Bison says he feels like his life is changing since he met Kant and the camera lands right in Kant's distressed face. It was a great way to signal that Kant is gonna face the music very soon. I found that fun and I had to rewind a couple times just to make sure I wasn't making it up in my head. Could just be a transition sound choice, but I'm reading into it.

The KantBison scene felt like a big contrast next to the FadelStyle scene to me. At this point I think they're both feeling more than they're letting on for each other. Fadel and Style's night is, mostly, quiet. There's no backtrack for the most part. Fadel is splayed out in the bed just watching Style take his shirt off, exposing himself more than Fadel, and caging Fadel in by crawling on top of him. Style is on top of him kissing him, doing what he wants to, and Fadel is letting him. Style is telling Fadel that he wants to be trusted, he wants more from Fadel and he's willing to wait for him to be ready. He means it. And I know there's the component of this all starting for some car and Style now being aware of the reality of the situation but I think that's the point. That's the point of doing this specific scene with the absence of a backtrack until Style starts getting actually frisky. When Style is saying all of this and kissing Fadel's scar, we only listen to his words, their breathing, and their kisses. It's bare bones, but that's the point. To bare it all.

Did I read into that too much? Maybe! but idgaaaaffff. I'm eating this shit up and having fun dissecting things that maybe don't need dissecting. :P

I think it's obvious I'm more invested in FadelStyle than KantBison.... zorry! They put me-targeted drugs in FadelStyle. It's not my fault. 🧍

[rei-ismyname]

Logan shouldn't be allowed near children

I know that's a loaded title but I stand by it. There's obviously an element of Flanderisation going on but considering his stated reason for opening the Jean Grey school he is far too eager to murder children.

Why TF is he leaping at children, snarling with his claws out? Check out the frothing drool.

For example, in All-New X-Men, the O5 have just been bought to the future by Hank McCoy. He stops teaching his violence through yelling class and heads out the front, leaping at the 16 year olds with his claws out. Not Hank, who brought them there but clearly traumatised children - while screaming like a lunatic of course. Even if he's not trying to kill them, what purpose does terrifying them serve? He clearly IS trying to kill them, though. I'm sure his students would love to see their headmaster butcher confused children in front of them.

Unsurprisingly, he scares the fuck out of them. In part influenced by constant threats of his violence, the O5 steal the X-Jet and flee, explicitly doubting this guy is an X-Man. His thoughts about the 16 year old Jean Grey... No dude, this isn't the Jean you know. She's a child you've tried to kill. Fucking creep.

This one is great. Young Scott has enough going on without this frothing beast advocating for his immediate execution as punishment for his future self's actions. Out front of the school with literally everyone watching. He's using his authority to advocate for slaughtering a child. Thankfully nobody agrees with him, but this is traumatic, terrifying, and affects Scott especially so badly he runs away.

No wonder he freaks out and leaves. Obviously the headmaster of a school should drop what he's doing, not for his wellbeing but to get his bike back. How is he in charge of anyone's wellbeing or moral instruction? He demands absolute obedience while doing nothing to deserve it. It's all about how Logan feels.

Here he is trying to gut a 15 year old Wiccan for having Scarlet Witch vibes, not for the or last time. I'm a little surprised he remained an Avenger after this. When you have knives for hands everyone looks like a pincushion. Except that's not it, because everyone else is a living weapon too and they mostly manage to be somewhat rational.

Why are his claws out here? Is he trying to kill him? What did he expect after threatening and traumatizing him? Snarling and shouting like an animal - isn't he trying to emulate Chuck here?

I can't remember why he's doing this but it's not the first time he's tried to kill Hope. Didn't work then either.

A 16 year old Jean uses a telepathic projection of the Phoenix to aid Wolverine in a fight. He stupidly thinks it's real and straight up tries to kill her. The bad guys get away. Not sure how many times he has to attempt to kill the Phoenix before he understands it's not an appropriate thing to do, nor is it about him. He's more like Sabertooth than he thinks, except he thinks he's in the right and somehow never gets called out. Logan has advanced senses - how is his instinct to straight up kill her instead of investigating further?

We can do better

I think that once Logan reached a certain point of saturation he became static. The lone wolf that's the best there is at what he does, and what he does is behave so unpleasantly it's hard to believe anyone would want to be near him, let alone allow him to run a school. He says 'bub' a lot and he snikts at the drop of a hat while repeating the same interpersonal drama over and over. I see him as a frequent self insert for the worst kind of toxic masculinity yet he's more popular than ever. No judgement if you like him at all, but I think the character deserves better. Somehow he's still a misunderstood loner despite a lot of people knowing him very well - with the amount of teams and books he's in he has the most active social life in 616. It'll never happen but I'd like to see him retire, as there are several Wolverines better than he..

[jyrinestories08]

I FINALLY WATCHED SONIC MOVIE 3 AND OH MY GOD IT’S SOOO GOOOOOODDD!!!!!

THE STORYTELLING, THE CHARACTERS, THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS, AND THE 3RD ACT!!!! AMAZING!! IT’S SO GOOD, I HAVE A BLAST OF WATCHING THIS MOVIE AGAIN BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING!

Spoilers of my thoughts⬇️⬇️⬇️

Hero story:

- Sonic had such a great character development in this movie when you put the 1st and 2nd movie together, and it shows on how changed and how he learns something from himself. That scene when he argues with Knuckles about how he wants to get the Master Emerald to fight Shadow is great. And i love how in that same scene, Knuckles knows that violence is not the answer, sonic shouldn’t have that much rage on him, even though after what Shadow did to Tom (i’ll talk about that later). This movie also shows you that Knuckles’ characteristics has gotten some development, when you compare how he acts in the 2nd movie and the spin-off show. And i still love that even though Tails and Knuckles agree what sonic is doing, he’s still family.

Villain story:

- I can finally talk about Shadow. Oh boy, he’s so good in this movie. He’s so well written in this movie. From his backstory and his villainy. His backstory with Maria are great, i love seeing Maria rollerskating around the G.U.N, including that she’s not even afraid of Shadow; instead she sees him as a little guy that she wants to be friends. AND THE MONTAGE WITH THEM IN THE BASE AJAKDJEJSMNDJSKSJDJDKSJDJSKDJ💕💞💓💗💖💘💝THEY’RE SO CUTE. This movie made me feel bad for both them😭. I never get to mention Eggman, Gerald, and stone in this movie. It’s interesting to see Gerald in this movie, it’s the first we get to see him having more interactions with Shadow and Eggman than in the Games; and i love seeing Jim Carrey playing both Gerald and Eggman at the same time, seeing the duality of both characters and how he acts as them. And man…poor Stone, he deserves better. This man has to watch his own boss anouncing a heartfelt message to him as a goodbye, and that’s just for so sad for Stone losing Eggman for the 3rd time again😭. And never get to mention his interaction with Tails and shadow in the movie because i really like that scene it’s really cute, i love seeing Tails talking about him and Eggman are friends, and Stone’s interaction with Shadow by BABYSITTING HIM DHJSJSHDHEJDNNDHDNDNDJDJD SO CUTE!!!!!!

(Other)Human characters[Tom and Maddie, G.U.N]:

- I really do like how get to see Tom and Maddie being part of Team Sonic’s mission compared to the 2nd movie. Their scene together at the house so cute, the little puppet that tom’s puppet is cute as hell, bonus the donut sweater. I still think their scenes in the G.U.N base is okay cause i really don’t mind it .And that scene where Tom is disguising himself as Commander Walters to get the key has to be a great scene for a character like him and how he cares about what Sonic is trying to do; 10/10 scene. And i like Walters’ role in this movie. I love he’s just a really nice G.U.N employee during the backstory scenes, and i love how he’s trying to be a good person by stopping a G.U.N soldier to shoot (except it explodes some gas’ that led to Maria’s); he seems like the movie equivalent of Abraham Towers, except he’s less intimidating than Towers. I wish we get more character of Agent Rockwell, i really do think she has some potential in the movies. Her last appearance is when Tom Disguises himself as Walters, then she just leaves and never to be seen again. I wish he had more because i might expect her as Agent Topaz from sonic X (except she’s a lot meaner than Topaz).

Stuff’s that made me cry:

- hooo…i am so ready to say some of list of stuff’s that made cry in this movie. The backstory with Maria and Shadow is so heartwarming and cute, i love seeing them being literal kids playing kids stuff and cause a ruckus, and i just wanted to inhale and exhale being how cute and sad it is at the same time. And yes, i did cry when Tom was sent to the hospital, because before that scene, Shadow almost killed Tom without knowinb it’s actually him. Sonic comes into the scene and i knew it Sonic will get so much rage on Shadow, and Shadow sees Sonic and Tom to himself and Maria; like i knew it, i knew that scene will come and I JUST WANT TO TAKE BREAK. And again, Eggman’s announcement to Stone is so sad because Eggman finally felt betrayed after what Gerald is doing. And now he’s making a message for stone and then referencing his line from the 1st movie🙁.

Post credit scene:

- I’m excited to say this. Let’s talk about the post credit scene from the very end. We already know, shadow is alive, of course he is still alive, we saw it in the games. But man…the first post credit scene. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH METAL SONIC IS HERE I CAN’T BELIEVE IT BUT I KNEW IT HE’S GONNA BE IN THE MOVIE. AND MY BEST GIRL AMY AHHHHHHH SHE FINALLY GETS WHAT SHE DESERVES AHHHHHHHH FINALLY FINALLY YESSSSSSSSSS AHHHHHHHHHHHH AND HER IN A HOODIE ASWELL, AND HER PINK LIGHT AND HAMMER, AND HER BEATING EVERY SINGLE METAL SONIC’S JUST TO SAVE SONIC’S LIFE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Tier Rank: S TIER

Scale Rank: 10/10

[azzibuckets]

Here are my thoughts on the players! It’s LONG!!! 1. Ice should not be starting. It is clear that she has trouble rebounding and finishing. Also, she’s not aggressive enough/willing to draw fouls from the other team. The amount of times I saw Aaliyah on the floor and at the free throw line last year was crazy. 2. Morgan should start 👀. I know she’s a freshman, but she isn’t afraid to get on the floor and be aggressive. Also, she seeks rebounds and is more hungry for it/acts like she wants to be out there. She brings the energy we need too. Plus, she can shoot 3s! 3. Kk should come off the bench earlier. USC set the pace the whole first and second quarter which was our downfall. If KK doesn’t show out then bench her but she can bring that energy we seem to lack in the first half a lot. Wouldn’t hate seeing her start for a game or two 👀 4. Not mad about Ash (she made that 3 when we needed it), but she tends to fade into the background when she’s not getting passes or good looks. Seeking her midrange shot will be so helpful for us in the future. I liked her defense tonight too, no fouls yay! Sometimes she fouls too much which isn’t great. 5. I love Paige but she is struggling (in her head more than last year) and it’s probably because Gene is not telling her what he expects like make up your mind old man! Also, she probably feels a lot of pressure to be that great leader for the team, which Geno could help with by, I don’t know, being a better coach. Lastly, Paige should have the ball in her hands more, because she’s really good at facilitating plays and it’s hard to do that when you have to work to get the ball first. I want to see Paige be more aggressive in the beginning of the game, because it’s like we are playing hot potato with the basket ball. 6. I want to see Allie come off the bench more too because we need more 3s. Both USC and ND out scored us in 3s. If she doesn’t hit her 3s then take her out, but she’s known as a shooter so let her try to shoot! 7. Kaitlyn is great. You can tell she has experience and makes good reads. I want her to take more 3s and just shoot more overall. We know she can do it. She should not be treated like the next “Nika” because she can make those shots and that skill needs to be utilized, especially when Paige and Sarah can draw defenders. 8. I LOVE SARAH!!! 9. I need Azzi to focus on getting healthy and then ball out! She can make a huge impact on the team and take some of that pressure off Paige. When she’s out there, she draws defenders opening up the parameter for 3s. Also, she’s good shutting down teams when they are on a run. I would like to see Azzi more vocal on the court like she is on the bench.

Geno needs to regroup with his lineups. And i love morgan’s hustle! she has foul trouble but still has loads of time and opportunities to clean up her defense

[littlesparklight]

Thinking about the casual mention of the huge rocks Ajax, Hektor (and Diomedes, I think, at one point? Idr) and undoubtedly others, too toss around. The ones that are more than two-four men "of today" can carry together.

It's easy to ignore this, of course, and just say that the Heroic-era heroes are as strong as strong humans today and let it stop at that. Easier, too, perhaps, if you're writing fic and such! But if we do acknowledge this as a thing, that has some fun implications and gives something to chew on both for individual characters and the Mythical Bronze Age people as a whole.

For one, is it everyone who is strong like this, from the simplest commoner to the greatest of the divinely-descended royalty? If that's it, it wouldn't be particularly impressive, I suppose. If everyone can do this it's just their baseline - which would of course fit with the idea that the Bronze/Heroic race of humans are "better" than Iron Age/our own people today, in some way.

On the other, there's no direct need to go that drastic - a sliding scale seems implied anyway, given, say, the great strength of Herakles, which is definitely beyond anyone else's.

So perhaps what we're looking at is that it's specifically those from royal lines that have gods somewhere in their ancestry that are this impressively strong. With "regular" people perhaps still stronger in general as a baseline than "us" today, but they're still below that of those with divine ancestry.

So you'd end up with a spectrum again, where Herakles is, of course, at the top. And Trojan War-era wise, Ajax (and Achilles undoubtedly) and Hektor presumably are at the top of that scale among mortal people still living. Everyone else, down to the common people, would be arranged between and below them.

With that we'd be back with that these huge rocks would still be a feat to the majority of the men on the battlefield (and those watching).

Yet it would also be something almost... expected, of anyone of noble/"heroic" bloodlines, something only they can do and ought to be able to do, given their ~natural excellency~. (Divine ancestry, that is.) Another question would be - those who are offspring directly of gods, in the Trojan war itself people like Achilles, Askalaphos and Ialmenos, Helen and Aeneas, etc, are they as a rule stronger than their mortal-but-having-divine ancestry peers? Or is it simply a possibility that they might gain greater strength than their peers, and would simply at the very least be as strong as the rest who have divine ancestry?

Just some thoughts - and possibly fun to include!

[arlathmyheart]

Interesting. I reckon both yes and no.

Rook is a people person who helps others much like felassan.

However Rook is still in the leadership role and fighting against the (surviving) evanuris like a young fen harel did. They are unexperienced but smart and willing/forced to act when necessary.

Rook bridges the gap as a kind of conscious fen harel who never loses sight of the cost of sacrifice. They keep their principles intact presumably.

Like felassan ROOK keeps morale high and stands with their cause. For instance they never see themselves as akin to a god.

Like solas they end up having to make hard decisions, some of which they regret.

Notably Rook has millennia less experience of various wars and memories from fighting the evanuris than solas. Thus less regret etc.

Rook mostly differs from solas in their ability to move on from their regrets etc.

What is interesting is how solas uses his regrets. He cherishes some and he values memories. He paints his or wishes to forget some. They work slightly differently for him. This may or may not be due to his spirit nature.

What will they call you when this is over?>

As rooks dialogue after the treviso/minrathous choice shows they go forward by choosing either: confidence, pragmatism or acceptance.

Later in game datv plays into the idea that rook acts as hubris (fen harel) to a solas who is becoming too prideful akin to elgarnan. They ruin his plans. They show him that he could have another path. They show that he could be beaten.

Rook maintains that the veil must remain. The cost is too great. Solas would only sate his conscience and not deliver the world/elves. Very pragmatic.

Solas seems to tell himself that it is for mythal to an extent (and all he has sacrificed). It is hard to tell if this is a overjustification or not. They have so much history. Plus we don’t learn if he was truly bound and enslaved to her will or just loyal to her due to their friendship/kinship? And her benevolence.

We do know for sure that Solas also sacrificed a lot of himself and others lives. He let spirits/people die for him as well as giving up his spirit form and essentially his own principles (his actual nature of being) He was a spirit of wisdom that she weaponised. This twisted him from his purpose to pride.

The main difference seemingly between the two is that rook is not from a spirit (presumably) and that they do not work alone (or else you get a bad ending)

Rook also doesn’t seem to have a mythal figure guiding them except for perhaps the player? Or even Solas himself.

Rook then acts as a young solas who had instead trusted his friends (if he had many/any? This is something that we don’t really learn. The relationships solas had were very strained despite time as he says himself). Thus Rook may be akin to a version of the past fenharel had he talked with felassan and chosen to act on his advice.

Presumably this would have changed the outcome of the past and solas may have then acted differently. This would not change the nature of pre veil mythal however.

The painful irony is that becoming the dreadwolf was presumably solas’ first main action against mythal/the evanuris after years of not being listened to. This was when he finally took a stand and tried to change things for the better. Felassan was the one who helped create the myth of the dreadwolf. He was supposed to keep solas in check.

Oh my god. This unplanned essay has made me think that more accurately: VARRIC is truly the character akin to felassan.

Going by masked empire and celene/briala as parallel to mythal/solas as the two have an odd/abusive relationship where each uses the other while maintaining a somewhat loving relationship.

Solas has his chance to rescind the past somewhat with Varric at the ritual. Varric tried to give him another option. Again Solas refuses this. This is expected given felassans fate in TME.

To listen to Varric/felassan in that moment would be for Solas to forfeit the past and to accept all his wrongdoings ended up just that. That unwittingly down the line he had made exclusively bad decisions despite having best intentions. (He is smart enough to half predict/know this and so he can only really either blame himself or mythal for it is she who is the one that continued forcing his hand and not listing to his reservations) She made him take a body, she maintained that to end a war titans should be sundered. He was the one who went along with it and made the dagger and (made/utilised?) the prison for the titans dreams. He followed her regardless thus being complicit in the events that unfolded.

Therefore Solas is also to blame for not acting against her and letting her continue with her version of events. (that is a lot of guilt) He does not move against her until he becomes fen harel. However in acting as fenharel he also ends up acting alone, thinking it the better option.

However young Solas still wants the best for Mythal (and hopes she will join his rebellion) but he ultimately loses Mythal when she tries to chastise? The evanuris for experimenting with the blight and they murder her.

Ironically in doing this she acts alone and it is her deference and pride of godhood that likely made her think she would be untouchable. If she didn’t care about her title she may have joined solas. Is she acted on solas’ advice solas may also have had more cause to trust in others beyond using them for his rebellion.

However we can’t truly tell if instead Mythal was utilising politics/manipulation for control rather than bringing more war on the elves. (a kindness?) We just don’t know enough about it.

“In desperation” then solas plots his revenge and seals up the blighted gods. This is no mean feat. He also doesn’t tell felassan his plans. The veil was created as a side effect of his powerful spell which thus altered the world and lead to the fall of elvhenan. He is far more ruthless now and yet imprisons the gods rather than killing them. (Presumably they could be freed if they managed to move past their regrets which would require them to self reflect or even feel remorse at all for their past tyranny). They are very powerful and hard to kill.

We don’t find out how exactly the prisons work as another is made. Presumably the first is the black city which also contains the blight. The second is the regret jail that rook is familiar with.

The difference here then must be varric’s effect on Rook. Or possibly more relevantly the inquisitor.

Varric acts as mentor and story teller. His is a slight guiding hand. He maintains actual faith in the inquisitor (no matter what they say) and imparts his kindness onto rook. He tries to change solas’s mind. His written stories will shape others thoughts.

He feels guilty for the lyrium dagger. He has lost Hawke. He by all rights is like felassan in TME.

Now the inquisitor themselves is one of the only living people in thedas that can conceivably understand how SOLAS felt during his rise to infamy as FEN HAREL. They are the closest to god like status in modern thedas and the inquisitor, having killed Corypheus, knows what it is like to raise an army or to fight a false god (or Titan?) on their own.

Inquisitor relied on their advisors and interestingly solas/Varric in their rose to power. They both shape how inquisitor feels about spirits or faith.

If anything then the inquisitor may be closest to a pre veil mythal or evanuris who is trying to keep a status quo of peace in a breaking world. Like solas they acted as a god and saved the world.

Ironically fen harel too has the option to be like the other evanuris. He both is and isn’t part of the pantheon. The question of their godhood lies in their morality and lust for power.

Now to change his mind solas hears from: mythal, rook, and inquisitor.

I think we are righting past wrongs to an extent: THIS MIRRORS THE REGRET DEMON STORY BEAUTIFULLY. TRICK WEEKES YOU!!!

Rook offers Solas another option despite it all (like Varric/Felassan) to give up the past. It is a lot of trust to simply hand him the dagger and yet a spirit will become what it is expected to be.

Rook keeps their faith in solas despite his betrayal. This could be a similar idea to how a young solas still followed mythal. It is a complex relationship depending on the players pov (datv solas = preveil mythal) (rook = preveil solas)

Fix 1- ROOK/YOUNG SOLAS LISTENING TO HIS FRIENDS AND STAYING TRUE TO SELF AGAINST FEN HAREL/MYTHAL. - sate conscience

Mythal (Mythal) concedes her part in using him and twisting him to pride . That they both did awful things that were wrong. He is released from her service.

Fix 2- FORGIVING HIMSELF FOR THEIR PAST BAD DECISIONS - forgive himself/mythal

The inquisitor (post veil Fen harel) tells him that he is free to find a better way. He now can see the way.

Fix 3- CHOOSING A NEW PATH FOR HIMSELF - freed spirit

It is sad and he is alone (unless solavellan) but now freed Solas chooses to seek atonement. He starts to move forward. I think he is so brave and I love him for it.

He is scared of dying alone and yet his life sustains the veil. He is scared to die and yet also scared to be alone. Plz give him Lavellan tho guys he is a good boy at heart.

This was unplanned. It is imperfect and it is late but it is my current musing on the subject. I may revisit this writing in time.

Honestly? Rook is more a foil of Felassan than Solas, Inky is Solas' foil.

[megandzane]

My bone density scan actually tuned out kinda decent.

[not-the-coffee-machine4]

Roger Taylor’s vocal range is so insanely slept on like tell me why I was just reading about countertenors and Wiki saying they tend to top out generally at E5 and Roger’s RECORDED DEMONSTRATE-ABLE vocal range is Bb1-E6. SIX. A whole OCTAVE above what was listed. And even calling him a tenor or countertenor is misleading ‘cause there’s somewhat of an implication that he can’t sing low LET ME REMIND YOU I JUST SAID B FLAT ONE. ONE. (I know voice type is where you’re generally most comfortable not just what you’re physically capable of and he seemed to naturally fall into the high range and etc etc don’t get technical with me rn) That is one note lower than Freddie’s highest and seven notes lower than Freddie’s lowest. Why does nobody talk about this like that’s insane??

[xcziel]

Hey wise people of tumblr, in the interest of having resource materials PHYSICALLY available for people to find

what are some actual books on or covering reproductive health that are as current/accurate as possible and that might help a person make thoughtful, informed choices about contraception, pregnancy, etc. and dealing with complications (miscarriage, pregnancy-onset conditions)?

there have got to be some clinic staff or advocates with sources that aren't just websites or similar

[strawberrycamel]

hey psst c'mere... no a little closer... a little closer- there we go

Loop lips are part of a racist caricature of Black people. Stop drawing Black characters with loop lips. I don't care how they look in canon, it's racist.

okay that's all you can go

[mantisgodsdomain]

Anyways, to those who have been wondering what we've been doing during our impromptu Tumblr Vacation or whatever we're calling it, we've been trying to find a playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 that is made by someone who doesn't annoy the shit out of us, and also tormenting Karlach Cliffgate (as you do)

[introvertedfox]

I met with a childhood friend a couple of days ago who proceeded to ask me, in secret as if he was talking about something illegal, if the sims were still a thing.

Oh, my sweet summer child, you don't want to open that pandora box. xD