#saying that as both someone who grew up in America and has only been to the doctors 7-8(?) times their whole life maybe even less

[rottenr0ckets]

Getting better mentally then immediately our physical health going to shit is fucking insane like

Oh yea we can finally regulate our emotions and don't want to harm ourselves every five seconds but oh wait we can't breathe or walk now

I feel so dizzy rn I might pass out

[kimberly-spirits13]

Growing Up in the Justice League HC

Purely self indulgence cause I've been on this and idk why so bear with me here

I can just easily romanticize growing up in the Justice League too easily and it would be a problem

you're brought in at as a baby to be trained by Diana

Apollo brings you to her and tells her that you are an ancient being that regenerates as a new person when you die and this is the form that you have taken. As you get older, you will remember the skills and memories of your past lives but you will have to be raised with someone who can handle you

Diana just loves babies so she had no problem with that

I'd say the league has been established for some time during this point and everyone knows each other's identities in the core group

You grew up in Paris and New York being raised as a mama's child

Bruce is the closest you get to a dad and he does his best

SPOILS YOU ROTTEN

all the Barbies and Legos and whatever toys you'd want as a child

They know that you've been trained as an assassin, wizard, queen, knight, sorceress, scientist, all of these other things that can be traumatic so they just want you to have a great, decent childhood

when you start remember things they begin training you to be a hero

It's like PE and recess all in one since they're really just trying to figure out what you can do

Clark treats you like a fragile piece of glass up until you're a teen cause teenagers confuse him and he just cannot not see you as an innocent beep boppin child sometimes

Barry keeps up with the culture and knows all the songs from your favorite childhood movies and tv shows that you grew up watching on the massive computer in the watch tower when you were up there

will dance to any Barbie song since he knows them all by heart

Hal makes fun of you two but secretly enjoys the movies and is very emotionally invested in Princess and the Pauper and Diamond Castle

Diana and Bruce make sure that you have a great education and training

They are the mature parents of the group and want to make sure you're a functioning member of society

you've got a bag full of grandparents in the Kents, Allans, Princes, Alfred and they all love you to death

Alfred teaches you to make the best tea and gardening, Ma Kent teaches you to quilt and make bread, Pa Kent teaches you how to drive a tractor and farm, Hippolyta teaches you about the Greek gods and ancient cultures and how to ride horses, the Allans would have loads of board games to play and love having you over

Once Young Justice or Teen Titans comes around you don't join since you're officially a Justice League member and get along better with the adults since you were raised by them

That doesn't mean that you don't like or hang out with the kids, it's just that you have better inside jokes with Hal and Barry

When Superboy comes around and the League disappears, you were the only one not taken by the portal since you were helping out some civilians

You knew that Clark wasn't dead and you knew the League was somewhere

What kept you afloat was humor and Kon attached to that since he just needed someone that wasn't insane in his life

you probably won't develop romantic feelings for each other but it's more of a camaraderie since you were both raised in a really unorthodox way

when the league finally comes back, you say it's the happiest day of your life and rant to them that you were the only one who knew they weren't gone but no one understood it

Hal and Barry are known for having a thing for chicken tenders and make sure to instill an addiction in you for chicken tenders

Arthur (Aquaman) really really really likes them too but he doesn't realize it until he comes to the League

Clark would be the one to take you out for ice cream randomly or if you're having a bad day

the mother hen therapist type

You're America's favorite Justice Leaguer and often go viral for in uniform interactions with the League

Dancing with Flash at a Presidential ceremony because the music is too beep boopin good and you can't help but bop around a little bit

Media also loves you as a civilian and it's been suspected that you are the love child between Diana and Bruce since I mean- that would make the most sense

it's a running joke in the league

[rwrbmovie]

BTS of #RWRBMovie: 'z' in your last name

TZP via HOLA:

Clifton Collins Jr., who plays my father in the film, was amazing. I knew of him. I’d seen his projects, but we’d never crossed paths before. And then we met and we just got along, thick as thieves. And he’s like an OG Mexican from Los Angeles which was so colorful. He made it feel like there was family on set. Same with Matthew being Puerto Rican. Their influences help you get into that vibe, and then you do the scene and it’s wonderful. You really bring that accuracy to it.

There’s a line in the film when Alex and Henry are in Paris, and Henry asks him a question about his mom’s campaign, and Alex starts telling him about his father and his abuela coming to the States. The line is something like “If you’re an immigrant in America and you have a ‘Z’ in your last name, there’s a lot of people in positions of power that don’t look and sound like you. I’ve been given the opportunity to be someone in the world that my father didn’t see when he was growing up.” As someone with two ‘Zs’ in his last name (laughs), that was a tough scene for me because I had to be there as Alex and not as Taylor. It was very emotional to think of my family and what they went through to come to the United States. Even though they came here a long time ago, you still think about all of the people that are coming to America today and about all of their stories. Alex realizes that his father didn’t have any role models growing up and now he’s a congressman. That fuels his fire to be the change. That was so exciting for me.

From NYT:

For both Zakhar Perez and the director, the character Alex’s biracial identity was particularly meaningful. López grew up in Panama City, Fla., with his Puerto Rican father and Polish Russian mother, while Zakhar Perez is of Mexican, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean descent and was raised in northwest Indiana, where he said there was only one other Mexican family. “Matthew and I talked a lot about the mestizo journey,” Zakhar Perez said in a video call before SAG-AFTRA, the actor’s union, went on strike. “Being part Mexican, part lots of other things, I don’t want to say you’re forgotten, but in today’s world, it’s like, you’re either this or you’re that. There’s nothing in between. I’m kind of a cultural chameleon.” “As a young Latiné queer man, I never read something that centered someone like Alex,” López said, echoing his star. “If I had been presented with this character when I was in my late teens, early 20s, it may have changed how I thought about myself.”

From Windy City Times:

Was the part about having a Z in your last name personal or the book? ML: It was personal. That was about me and Taylor. It came from a conversation that Taylor and I had when making the film.

From Metro Weekly:

Alex has a line about grow ing up in Texas as a kid with a last name that ends with Z, which is I guess something else you can relate to, Florida style. ML: And Taylor Zakhar Perez also. Taylor and I talked about that scene a lot as being something that we both understood. My aunt Priscilla Lopez is a beloved, beloved stage actor. She was in the original cast of A Chorus Line. And there's a story that she tells about Mandy Gonzalez, who was in In the Heights with her, and Mandy once told Priscilla that Priscilla made it okay for her to be someone with a Z in her last name. And that was a thing that Taylor and I spent a lot of time discussing as well. It was important to me that that scene be in the movie. There was never a chance in hell that that scene was ever getting cut.

From Teen Vogue:

TV: One of my favorite parts is when they’re in Paris, and Alex talks about being a young person of color coming up from Texas and not seeing anybody who looked like himself or his dad in politics, and Henry’s response to that simply being: “I’m learning.” I don’t know if you were in the theater for that one, but half the crowd was like, awwwww. ML: Yeah, I was for that. TV: I’m married to a white man, and I was like, that is the perfect thing a white man can say in that situation. ML: I’m married to a white man, too. Speaking as someone who is a person of color married to a white man: that’s like the ultimate thing you ever want your white boyfriend or husband or partner to say. That’s it. “I’m learning.”

ML via THR:

There’s a scene in the movie that is very much me, which I gave Taylor after they’ve had sex for the first time. They’re there in pillow talk mode, and he tells Henry about what it’s like to be the son of an immigrant with a Z in your last name. It was really important to me to talk about growing up with a Z in your last name and even just how our names are pronounced, the spellings of our names sometimes if you have Latin ancestry. To have to answer for your name has always been something for me that I struggled with until I stopped struggling with it. So, I needed to put that into Alex’s story and when it came time to shoot that scene again, it was something I didn’t have to explain to Taylor Zakhar Perez. He got it instantly. The only thing that I did screw him up with is like, “We’re going to do this [scene] as a oner, and we’re going to do it as a top shot that starts in a wide shot and comes all the way down to your face, and we’re not going to leave this scene until you get it right in one.”

[shanastoryteller]

It’s been a while since you’ve talked about it, but I’m worried about visiting LA this year. I don’t live in a city that big, I can’t really investigate it online, and I have no idea where it’s safe to hotel there. Where do you (did you? You may have moved on?) feel safe in the city? Where would you recommend to people visiting to stay? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! You’re just one of the very few people I know that has lived there. Thank you, regardless of your answer, you didn’t have to read this at all❤️

hi! answering publicly in case anyone has advice they want to add :)

i'm a little worried this might come off as dismissive, but honestly i just don't find cities to be that dangerous. i've lived in LA for almost eight years, lived in another city for 3 years before that, and have visited about a dozen major cities outside of america

homeless people, by and large, aren't going to bother you. if you have a couple bucks to spare, give it with a smile and look them in the eye, and move on, or if you have nothing it's fine to say that you just don't have cash. if there's an encampment, which happens all over the city and just not on skid row, then they're definitely not going to bother you because they don't want to cause trouble and get kicked out of where they've managed to find a consistent place to sleep

the truth is if you get assaulted, statistically it's going to be by someone you know rather than a rando on the street. if you do get assaulted in LA by a stranger, it is WAY more likely to by an out of work background actor named josh who picks up shifts at a tiki bar than a homeless person or gang member

that being said, i actually have no idea what neighborhoods are considered dangerous in LA these days? i guess the flip side of finding nowhere in LA particularly dangerous is that it's all dangerous, but really you're more likely to get taken out jaywalking in dtla than anything else

as for locations, it's important to remember: los angeles is huge

it's more like a bunch of small towns next to one another than one cohesive city. the town i grew up in is smaller than the neighborhood i currently live in. if you're visiting, i HIGHLY suggest you rent a car. the public transport in LA is shit

i've only been to east LA to visit friends and eats burgers. both were enjoyable, but you're relatively far from the coast. they also built a stadium in inglewood, which multiple friends have informed me has fucked up the housing in the area, but i don't know if that would make it better or worse to stay in

anywhere in the valley is going to be cheaper than the city proper. north hollywood and studio city are good for that. the garland in noho is really cute and right next to the highway. sherman oaks and van nuys are decent too and they're literally right next to each other. i personally think encino is one large strip mall and so is panorama city, but panorama city at least has the saving grace of good filipino food

if you get to northridge, you've gone too far north. malibu beaches are definitely worth a visit, but it's such an expensive area and so far from everything that i wouldn't stay there

hollywood proper, venice beach, and santa monica are probably the most quintessentially LA places, but I would only stay in santa monica out of them. not for safety reasons, but because the other two are filled with tourists. which, i know you'll technically be a tourist, but still

koreatown has great food, but terrible parking. it's also a cheapish place to stay. downtown LA is something I avoid because it just reminds me of the financial district of every city i've ever been to. the dtla library and the last bookstore are the only things worth going there for, personally, and it's also a very expensive place to stay.

little tokyo is very cute and manages to feel separate from city while being surrounded by it. i admittedly only go to chinatown for bakery runs, but it's all delicious and vey beautiful, especially if you've never been to a chinatown in a major city before

west hollywood is expensive, and i wouldn't stay there myself, but it has great brunch places and devastating parking rules. the most expensive parking ticked i ever got was in weho. burbank is the land of animation studios and also porto's. it's a really cute area. beverly hills exists and taking a walk on melrose is fun but i wouldn't linger. again, not safety, just terrible vibes.

i know this probably seems like a lot but i've actually only listed the more popular neighborhoods that i'm personally familiar with. los angeles is HUGE.

i hope this helps somewhat! and sorry to anyone who's neighborhood i've disparaged T_T

[mamadarama]

same anon here to elaborate on some of the cats (and other pets) in the story:

every member of knights has a descendant of little john/nyaitsu. (only one i have details on atm: izuleo have a big fat cat named king richard who's dumb as rocks[though they both insist otherwise] and spoiled rotten. they didn't know it was a girl until after she was named that. later on they got another cat who they named maid marian before finding out that was a boy. their names have not been changed regardless)

shu adopted a Fancy Pedigree Sphinx (he makes it little sweaters/outfits to keep it warm). mika has a skrunkly black cat he found in a dumpster (alternatively, also thought it could be cool to give him one of those patchwork cats, where the pigmentation on their face is like. split down the middle yanno). anywho these cats are Bonded for Life

tetohina have a Stupid Male Orange Tabby. tetora thinks the cat is a Fierce Warrior while hinata calls it a stinky dum dum (affectionately)

kohiiai actually have three pets. first was the bunny, then the tarantula hiiro brought home a day later, then a while after that, kohaku found a stray kitten in an alleyway and brought it home (by this point hiiro has adjusted to the idea of domesticated pets, and it helps that the kitten was also on the streets [just like him ;;]) kohaku and the cat are both found regularly napping in weird locations (open to suggestions on cat breeds!! i keep going back and forth on what it should be,, i liked the idea of bingus, but also like the idea of fluffy,, currently tentatively thinking oriental long hair maybe? idk. kitten with ear too big for he gotdam head)

subaru (+the rest of trickstar by extension) has a direct descendant of daikichi

similarly, koga has at least one or two corgis, if not a direct descendant of leon. also probably like a bajillion foster dogs. hes using the rockstar money to care for as many dogs as possible

souma still has kamegorou. turtles live a long time,, (also maybe one or two horses as well)

given your Cat Knowledge, i'd love to hear your thoughts on these, or any other characters who you think should have cats! :3

Aaahh thats so cute . i can totally imagine leo having a cat named king richard thats just like that, if someone told me him and izumi have that exact cat back in italy i wouldnt even question it id just take it as fact

you could give kohaku a purebred, but it wouldnt be that realistic to do that. finding a purebred stray/feral at all, much less finding one alive, is so unlikely that the only thing keeping me from saying its impossible is my personal adversity to making absolute claims like that on the possibility of some bizarre freak situation. all strays and ferals are moggies/randombreds, any purebreds you see in shelters are animals surrendered by their owners (its rare, ive been rehabbing cats for 6-7 years now and its only happened 3 times)

however that doesnt mean you cant give him a unique cat !! mutations and weird patterns happen all the time in stray and feral populations . the bobtail gene is pretty common in japanese colonies (at least more common than it is in america) so you could give him a bobtail cat? i think a little high white calico bobtail would suit him :^)

but of course realism doesnt really matter too much, hell i have purebreds in catstars au and theyre all ferals

also hiiro would have either a tarantula or a stick bug or both. idk i can imagine him absolutely adoring stick and leaf bugs for how they look like sticks and leaves , he thinks its charming

depending on how far in the future were talking souma might still have saigoudon. souma grew up with him so its safe to assume theyre around the same age, meaning saigoudon is around 20 years old. horses can live up to 30 and occasionally even longer so theyve still got plenty time left together. if he moves out of his parents house maybe hed get his own horse though

the twins definitely have their own cats and tetora definitely tells young children that meet their cat that its part tiger.

SHU HAVING A HAIRLESS BREED IS SO REAL he would love having a pet he can make clothes for its too perfect . the split face marking youre talking about is most common in tortoiseshell cats , that would be perfect for mika :D

with daikichi and leon im almost certain theyre both fixed because koga and subaru are responsible dog owners but subaru would definitely stick with shibas . i can picture koga either with another corgi or adopting a shepard mix of some kind ..... when he retires hed probably start fostering dogs but until then hed probably be busy with life and stick with only one dog so he can devote all his attention to that one . fostering more than one or two dogs at a time is kind of a full time thing (believe me my step grandmother fosters dogs and owns 11) he definitely volunteers at some sort of animal place, either domestic or exotics or whatever he just loves animals in general (thinking abt the guinea pig card..... )

[hollybee8917]

Between Past and Present

Characters: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Bruce Banner

Plot: With more of his memories returning, Bucky has an opportunity to return to the past but is torn. If he stays, he will lose the only person who still believes in him. However, if he goes then he will never truly be happy there as he has gotten too used to the present.

Warnings: Light swearing

“You’re not coming with me, are you?”

Bucky stood there, not saying a word and staring at his friend. His mind was filled with conflict but he couldn’t vocalize what he was thinking. Sam stepped up beside him, “Of course he’s going with you, Steve. You two are best friends. You’ve both sacrificed so much for each other. You’re soul mates.”

Steve reached out to touch Bucky, “Please come with me.”

But Bucky flinched and stepped back, “I-I can’t. I don’t belong there.”

The former Captain America shook his head, “You don’t belong here without me either, Buck.”

A gulp and then, “Maybe I don’t belong anywhere, Stevie.”

Sam glanced between the two. They had called each other Buck and Stevie. They only did that when things were bad. He knew this conversation was serious and not one he should witness, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Then he walked away. Steve Rogers stared pleadingly at Bucky Barnes, “I’m not coming back, Bucky. I’m staying in the past…”

Tears began to gather in Bucky’s eyes, “Steve, I-I can’t go. I don’t belong there.”

“But I can’t go back without you, Buck. You’re my best friend. Together till the end of the line, remember?”

Bucky felt some sad anger rising in him, “We were just dumb kids, Steve. We didn’t know what that meant. Hell, we are not the same men we once were. I fought aliens for god’s sakes.”

Steve matched Bucky’s anger, “So did I! THREE TIMES! Hell, I fought the government. For you.”

“I didn’t,” Bucky paused, “I didn’t ask you to do that. I told you I wasn’t worth it.”

Steve hung his head, “But you are worth it to me. It was supposed to be us against the world, remember?’

“Steve, the world you are talking about going back to has no place for men like us. We have seen too much and done too much to ever attempt to fit in there. There’s too much war in us. All we will ever be is soldiers. Nothing more. Why don’t you stay here? Let someone else return the stones.’

Again, Steve shook his head, “No, Buck. It has to be me.”

“If you do this, Steve, you will never see me again.”

The blonde reached out, “Don’t say that. Please don’t say that. Just come with me. We can be happy in the past. Maybe we’ll settle on a quiet street. I’ll be with Peggy and you can find that Ally girl you liked so much and marry her.”

“Her name was Anna Grace and no. I can’t. What don’t you understand, Steve? We will never really be happy there. We will have to live our lives all over again and I can’t face another seventy to eighty years of that. I don’t think either of us could.”

Steve pushed a strand of his hair off his forehead, “We would adjust.”

Bucky leaned back on his heels, “Would we though? We have been in the future for so long, could we really live without advancements in technology? What about the advancements in medicine? Do you really want to go back to a time where the best cure for a gunshot wound was penicillin?”

“Gunshots and penicillin weren’t a thing. But if it means being with Peggy then yes!”

Angrily, Bucky ran his hand threw his hair, “That’s not the point here. The point is she had a life without you, Steve! If you go back, even to an alternate timeline, you will throw off that perfect life she could have had without you. Find a girl here. Someone who reminds you of Peggy but is different. Hell, what about Sharon? You liked her!”

Steve grew silent. He knew Bucky had a point. Bucky always had a point. He slammed his hand against the wall, “That’s not fair, Bucky. I just-“

“You just have in your stubborn little head that you are going back and no one will be able to change your mind. Fine. Go back. But I am not coming with you, Steve.”

“Bucky. Bucky, come on. Till the end of the line, remember?”

“This is the end of the line, punk. This is it and there’s no avoiding that. Always remember that you made this choice.”

Bucky turned and walked away leaving a devastated Steve behind him. Steve called Bucky’s name but Bucky didn’t hear.

The next morning, Bucky stood with Sam, Banner and Steve at the site of the time portal. Banner was giving his instructions and Steve was nodding. Bucky, however, was letting his mind wander to everything he and Steve had been through together. More of his memories from before the war were floating back albeit in pieces. Before he could register it, Steve was standing in front of him. For a moment, neither man spoke.

Steve broke the silence, “Are you sure you won’t-”

Bucky held his hand up, “Don’t, Steve. I don’t want to rehash this.”

Steve smirked, “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

Bucky returned the expression, “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

The brunette stepped in for a hug and Steve returned it. Standing in that moment, holding each other, Steve and Bucky both wavered in their decisions but only in that moment. Bucky pulled back first. With a sad glance, Bucky murmured, “Gonna miss you, buddy.”

Steve tilted his head to the side, “It’s gonna be okay, Buck.”

For the first time in two days, Bucky let himself smile as he watched Steve step onto the platform. Sam spoke up, “How long is this gonna take?”

Banner responded, “For him, as long as needs. For us, five seconds.”

Steve turned and looked at Bucky as Banner called out, “Ready, Cap?”

He nodded and Banner continued, “Alright. We’ll meet you back here, okay?”

“You bet.” He lowered his gaze to Bucky who held his head high.

Banner called out, “Going quantum in 3..2..1.”

Then Steve was gone. Five seconds passed and Steve didn’t return. Sam and Bruce began to bicker but Bucky merely turned and walked away. He paused at the sight of a figure sitting on the bench at the water’s edge, “Sam.”

Sam walked over to Bucky. The former assassin glanced at him with a sad smile then jerked his head. Wilson stepped forward as Bucky turned and walked away. His best friend was gone. As Bucky passed Banner, Bruce stopped him, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that Steve was going to stay in the past.”

“I did,” Bucky sighed, “we talked yesterday. Or rather, we fought yesterday. It’s fine. What’s done is done. Time to move on.”

Bruce nodded, “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, in time. Thanks doc.”

Bucky walked away.

[tmwcs]

Im very curious on what your thots are when it comes to the boys being doms or subs. Ive seen so many times that you post things and then later on we find out similiar happenings with the members like the Sunghoon ice skating post and the Heelel throne chair photo. I want to know what you think. All of the members minus Nikki Please.

This is what I truly think for each member, taking in my own observations from their habits on lives, their personality, their horoscopes/tarot readings (my own tarot readings since i've studied tarot and astrology since gradeschool) and what I know about Korean culture.

Please note, that everything i'm writing is purely just my own personal thoughts on how i perceive the members. i dont know them or any korean men other than some friends i grew up with. this is just all for fun and gossip (it really is) and again, just my own thoughts on how I think they would be like. i do not claim that this is in fact how the enhypen members are by any means. this is purely just my own gut instinct of how i think the boys are like offscreen.

So if I am being quite honest, i personally think that (when paired with their partners) all the boys will be dominant in some form of fashion. There may be different/various degrees on their dominance, depending on each member, but typically, Asian men (even the younger generation) will be somewhat dominant. This ofc does not apply to all of them, there are some Asian men who will be little to extremely submissive, but given the fact that the members of Enhypen are all employed, have fame, are financially stabled (if they're smart and not careless with their money) and have alot of opportunities to expand their networking and career goals, I'd say that all of them will be dominant. Perhaps, depending on the situation or event, they might elude some submissive behaviors, like for instance, if you both are chilling out and watching tv, and if you wanted to watch some particular show or movie, they might be like "fine, watch whatever you want." but when it comes to other things, I feel like they're going to call the shots. I'll explain this below (not in any particular order.)

Lets start with Jay...

So Jay was partially raised in America, is an only child (and is a son, which is a pretty big deal) i point this out because, more than likely, he has been groomed and treated to take a lot of pride and carry out the family name and legacy. Most likely, he's been reminded to always put forth his best effort, work hard, and to do his family name proud, which means he'll be very selective and when it is time to settle down, it will be with a very nice woman who can cook, clean, is educated, and comes from a good family. Career isn't really going to be a big deal to him (i feel like), because more than likely, he'll prefer someone to support him by taking care of the house and everything else while he's working and away. I can see him to be the type to put his foot down on the big things (again, the little stuff he wont care about, i do see him as somewhat easy going and a very gentle type) but when it comes to big stuff or...the intimate things, I see him being very dominant. Not demeaning or anything like that, just assertive and firm. i also see him being the type to be very loyal and dependable with his partner.

Sunghoon:

So, I know alot of fics that I stumble across always depicts Sunghoon as a very sex craved, demeaning and humiliating dominant, like a sex-god type (kind of how like Heethan is) and i know they are just fics (even though there are alot of readers and creators that really do believe him to be as such because of his image/visual) but honestly, i don't think he is like that at all. I think Sunghoon is very shy, timid, and might be a little stand-offish (not in a mean way) i just see him as very anti-social unless he gets to know you. I think with females, i can see him being attracted to ones that are the typical stereotype of korean beauty and of korean heritage (which really is only obtained by surgical alteration/enhancement, for the most part) the whole v-line jawline, big eyes, pale skin, heart shaped lips, and a very calm and well mannered personality. a woman who doesn't curse or has a very bold attitude. I say this, because he would be dominant that likes comfort and little to no-chaos. he wants things to be easy, and like Jay, he'll call the shots on the big stuff, but also on the little things. He might have the last say when it comes to things like what to eat for dinner, what to watch before bedtime, etc. I just see him as a very particular fellow who will put his foot down, again, in a non-demeaning way, just firm and MIGHT (might) remind his partner of their position in the relationship cordially or firmly, depending on the situation. He's a very calm dom.

Heeseung:

Again, alot of fics (mine included....*ahemheethanandheelelahem*) depict Heeseung as a sex craved pervert. Actually, there are alot of content that will post about idol HS as a perverted loser that is either dominant or submissive, and is openly filthy, but in reality, I would say that HS is like Jay and Sunghoon combined. I do personally think (and this is not because of his stage presence, these idols are trained to reflect various sides to fit the image and visual of the band's concept, per company's creative direction) but i do get this vibe that HS, when paired with a partner, is the type that does enjoy intimacy and pillow talk. I personally think that at some point while early in his career, maybe like a year or so after they debuted, I think that he may have had small relations and dated some girls here and there, and experienced intimacy. so with that being said, i feel like he's always been somewhat dom but it has grown a bit more since he debuted and i can totally see him being the type that will be chilled out for the most part, maybe some days he'll have the last say on small things like what to eat, what music to listen to while driving the car, but for the most part would be somewhat quiet, pensive, non-chalant even, and easy going. I see him as the type to keep to himself quite a bit, and depending on his mood. for instance, if you were to sit on his lap or something, i could see him either embracing you or he could sit you next to him and say "sit right here next to me." I get this vibe that he can be big on personal space, not all the time, just some of the time (out of all the members he's the only one that gives off this vibe) and when it comes to the big, impacting decisions, he's just like the other two. very dominant and will call the shots. when it comes to the bedroom, i can see him being the type that regardless, whether you take the lead or not, he'll still be reflecting a certain level of dominance, like telling you to slow down, or go faster, or "take this off" or "put this on" type.

Jake:

Now Jake is one of those members that is notorious for being a sweetheart. and I do think he is a very affectionate and rational type, probably the most open minded out of all the members. I think he would be the sweetest out of all of them to be partnered with, like i can see the other three ahead of him having a certain amount of boundaries, but when it comes to Jake, i feel like he would always be down to cuddle and welcome you with open arms, and might even be the touchy feely type. once you guys established a sound relationship, he'll be bold and less shy, and a bit more assertive even. I think he'd let you have free reign on alot of things, but would be the type to voice his opinion. for instance, he'd be the type to say "this movie again? can't we watch something else?"

again, I think that when it comes to the big decisions, he'll make the final decision, but i feel like he'd be more considerate about his approach. for some reason, with the others, i see them to be far more assertive but with jake, i can see him to be the type to do the whole "look, lets talk about this..." and he'll discuss and even hear you out, but it's really not going to matter because i feel like he'll make the final say. but it's not with ill intentions; like the others before him, i can see him to make the final decision because he's taking alot of major components into consideration that will benefit your guys life. if he gets angry or a bit irritated, i can see him being less considerate and just more "my way or the highway" type. This goes for intimate stuff too.

Jungwon:

Jungwon is young (he's like the same age as me) BUT, this guy does have a sense of confidence he eludes all the time and i feel like sometimes he can be a little cocky (not that he's shown that, i can just see it though) its like a gut instinct, not in a bad way though. I feel like that he'll be more of a playful dom, like if you try to voice out something and he doesn't agree with it, he'll just smile and pinch your cheek and say "cute." its not necessarily demeaning but its a little bit degrading as i can see him being the type to not really take you too seriously, unless you're older than him (i can personally see all the boys to not really care about age, so long as the person fits their ideal appearance and personality.) I remember Jungwon once said he respects and admires IU, the way his face and eyes looked when he said that, i get this feeling that if he was dating a girl that was older, someone who is mature, has some life experience and knows how to take care of him and all responsibilities, i feel like he'd still be dominant but would be very considerate and would take whatever you have to say to heart. he would just respond with the "i understand what you're saying, but we have to do it this way." and thats how he would have the final say. Now with a girl that is younger than him, i feel like he'd be very playful, like a carefree heart and would act very similar the way he does with the fansign's. cheek poking, laughing, giggling, the type that if you get shy and turn your face, he'd put his face right in front to enforce the eye contact. he'd have the final say through smiles and flattery.

Last but not least (since i'm excluding Niki) is Sunoo.

Sunoo:

I think that Sunoo is very much like Jungwon, but not as cocky. Actually, of all the members, I feel like Jake and Sunoo are probably the most humble, truly do. I can see Sunoo being less attentive to looks and more focused on personality. With that being said, i can see him to have the final say on things but it would be through harmless debates or small minor arguments, nothing too serious. I feel like he would be the dom type that would be studious and while discussing it with you, he'd have some very valid points that would be like, eye-opening factors that you hadn't considered. I know he has the image of the cutesy and fox like, diva visual, but in all honesty, i can see Sunoo being the ultra serious and sincere type. I dont know what it is, i feel like that he is not at all like the image he portrays himself, ofc that goes for all the boys, but unlike Sunoo, i feel like the boys stage presence and idol image has some essence of their true personalities. with Sunoo, i feel like he is actually a very smart, and solid person to discuss serious matters with. i can see him still being cute and silly, playful and maybe even emotionally sensitive, but there definitely is a side of him that we don't see and probably never will. i feel like he is a very rational type that will present factors that will influence you to sway his way, and that's the type of dom i think he is. when it comes to pillowtalk, i can see him maybe being a little assertive, but also, i feel like he and jake are the two that can be chilled out during the intimate moments and not as strong dom as their counterparts.

[yautjalover]

saw the 'bother with asks and questions' post and reblogged it so a lil obligated to BE THE CHANGE I WANT TO SEE. I appreciate a fellow yautja appreciator that is for sure. I didn't watch the latest movie, if you did, how would you compare it to any of the other predator (or AVP) films? I'm taking my sweet time, but good press from someone who is focused on whats important (tHE BIG ALIEMS,,,), might move it up my priority list.

I get you! We gotta be the change we want to see! I myself went out and asked some folks things. 😊

As for your question concerning “Prey”, in comparison to the others in the franchise it stands out for multiple reasons.

1. It’s not set in the modern era.

With this film not being in modern times, we get to explore, for the first time on film, what a predator hunt in the past would look like! It’s no longer just seeing their historical hunts in the comics and novels, which has long been something we fans have wanted to see on the big screen. “Prey” also answers questions concerning historical hunts.

How different would their technology look and behave? Would they get tangled with historical events that shaped the future? What would they do in the face of long outdated weapons of that time?

“Prey” answers these pretty well, I think!

We get to see possible earlier iterations of the iconic weapons Yautja are associated with, we get to see how one becomes entangled with big historical events in pre-colonial North America, and also get the treat of one dealing with 17th century weapons.

The weapons of the time provide a few genuinely funny moments that help break the tension a little. I won’t spoil them, but I’m sure they’ll give you a good laugh!

I will say that it’s not riddled with excessive humor like 2018’s “The Predator”. There is a wonderful balance.

2. The lead isn’t some forgettable buff military guy and instead a Comanche Native American woman.

Unlike other current Hollywood female leads, she’s a genuine bad ass. She’s allowed to learn and grow from her mistakes, shaping up to use her intelligence against Feral. Naru knows the land and uses it to her advantage. She grew up surrounded by nature and picks up that something weird is going on, something she can’t explain until things happen.

Sorry, no spoilers here!

While there are moments where there is obvious plot armor, she still a cool and likable character with flaws but manages to also be a surprisingly worthy hunt for Feral. It’s also cool to see Indigenous representation and see a glimpse into that culture! We see parallels between a cryptid (can’t confirm if it was just for the movie or actual mythology for that tribe) and our titular Yautja.

With Naru, we get a coming of age story that mirrors Feral in this hunt being his first time on our planet and him slowly learning more about this hunting ground. They’re both, seemingly, out to prove themselves, setting up for later events in the film that pay off.

3. New Sub-Species of Yautja!

Thanks to Feral we get a glimpse of what a Yautja who originates from a different region, other than the jungle, of the planet looks like, with this case being a desert environment. While I think the facial design is atrocious, I can see what they were going for.

We learned from interviews with the design team that his sub-species consumes bones and has a special palette just for that in his mouth. His locs are slender and more numerous in order to keep cool, plus it looks pretty cool! I’m sure he’d be a shampoo company’s dream model!

You get to see a predator actually hunt things other than humans! I won’t spoil it, but there are some awesome scenes that really showcase the strength and agility that Yautja are known for but we hardly get to see. It’s pretty bad ass!

In “Prey”, we also see a more brutal predator who revels in bloodshed and fucks people up. There’s more violence on display, plus some new cool weaponry that only aids the carnage. While he gives off Young Blood energy occasionally, he’s still a bad ass! When he’s on the screen, he commands your attention!

However, he’s the only Yautja I’ll want the mask to stay on. He’s not a pretty fella and I liken him to a golden roast chicken.

“Prey” was the return to form the franchise needed after the questionable decisions made in 2018’s “The Predator”. Whoever thought that Yautja would be interested in my Autism was a big dumb ass. This film breathes new life into the franchise and gives us something genuinely entertaining while also bringing back some of the terror that the original 1987 “Predator” gave us!

I personally rank this high up on the list of previous films we’ve received over the years. It’s better than “Predators”, “The Predator”, and “AVPR”, sitting right with the OG, Predator 2, and AVP for me.

It’s worth the watch. It’s not a 10/10, more like an 8/10, but it’s still worth the watch! You should run to Hulu and give it a go. You won’t be disappointed!

Sorry for the LONG response, but I wanted to break it down. Thank ADHD and Autism and my rabid horniness for Yautja.

Oh! Last thing!

On a scale of 1 to 10, Feral is a solid four for me. His body is gorgeous. Those thick fingers? HELLO!

It’s the face that lowers the rating, though. My GODS that face design is…wow. 💀

[lovebillyhargrove]

Slow burn. Season 1 Steve Harrington meets asshole Billy Hargrove. Fire on fire, leading to an explosion. First chapter of this whole idea where there are definitely gonna be casualties

On ao3 "Wake me up when July is around"

Chapter 1/?

***

Fuck this stupid fucking Hawkins. What in fucking hell has he done to deserve it? Who the fuck moves away from California to a shit hole like this??

No one, apparently, except for his dad.

There are a lot of things about Neil Hargrove he finds weird. But the strangest one? Neil never fucking cared about the ocean. Billy doesn't remember a single time when his dad actually went to the beach, with or without his son. How can you not go to the beach if it's right there, on your doorstep?

Fucking insane.

The only thing Neil has ever cared about is being a respectable member of the community. Don't stick your head up too high, or you might get it chopped off. Be like everyone else.

If that's what being an adult is, Billy would rather die young.

Fuck this shit. Fuck this lame town. Fuck his life.

His hands are itching to turn the ignition key and drive away without looking back right this fucking second, but Billy needs to finish school first. He also needs some money and to turn 18. He knows that, he's not a fool.

This year's gonna be such a drag.

His father is a mechanic, and a good one. They lived in the suburbs of San Diego, where his father worked for many years at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar. Billy isn't sure if he counted as military or not, maybe he was just a mechanic who worked on a military base on a contract. But it seems that they paid him a good amount of dough when he quit. Or when he was made redundant, his dad didn't bother to fill Billy in on the details.

Parents never tell their kids anything, they never fucking explain. Like kids are so dumb, they won't understand adult stuff anyways. But then they go and demand from children to be mature at the age of fucking four. Be a man, his dad always says. Billy has been listening to this phrase ever since he got out of diapers. He's pretty sure he heard it before as well, it just didn't register on his level of understanding. Be a man. Respect and responsibility alright, but, somehow, it's supposed to go only one way. Kids don't have to be respected.

What a bunch of crap.

We're moving, son, that's it. Whether you like it or not, whether you want it or not. Us adults make decisions, and you just have to swallow everything down, not have your own opinion, go pack your bag and help Susan. Put all the furniture in the van, come on, chop the fucking chop.

Billy remembers how his father took him to the Miramar base when he was little. Billy, of course, was impressed. Huge planes and helicopters, he'd even dreamt of becoming a pilot one day. He'd fly away, and find his mom, and they'd live on a deserted beach without the bad people.

As he grew older, he realized how naive and childish his dream was. He also understood quite quickly that he did not like anything connected with the army and the military. Always live by someone's orders? His whole fucking life, until retirement? No thank you, sir. He had enough of this coming from his dad. Billy was actually more interested in traveling to different places once he grew up, he craved the sense of freedom. Of going anywhere. Around the States, he's always wanted to drive to the Atlantic. Or Mexico, where, they say, the beaches are fucking brilliant. Or South America. The world is fucking huge, so why the hell not?

Not to Hawkins, Indiana, obviously, but here he is. Stuck in cow shit. Waiting for his stepsister to come out of the house so that he can drive them both to school.

Billy wasn't impressed with the military stuff, but he himself was good with his hands. Must've taken after his father. He enjoyed it too. Which was surprising because initially it was Neil who taught him a lot about mechanics. Very quickly, this father-and-son time has become a burden for Billy, a suffocating chore he didn't want to do anymore. Because it was constant pressure. It was constant dissatisfaction, even contempt. His dad was never happy, even about little things, like tightening a loose screw. It's not like that. You did it wrong there. You could have done a better job, do you hear me, son? The son himself could've turned out much better generally as well, Billy already got the basic idea.

Sorry, dad. For being the way I am.

Billy has been hanging out at this garage near his house since he was little. Learned a lot there too. When he was fourteen, he brought a crashed blue 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, which he found at a junkyard, to that same repair shop. He remembered almost losing his mind when he saw that beauty, just standing there, waiting to be towed away for scrap, to be crushed, sent into non-existence. Irreparable damages. Fuck no. It was his car now. The guys at the garage were kinda taken away by the determination of a 14-year-old. They helped, a lot. Billy spent all his savings on that car, working on it practically every day for months. It was a lot of work, and Billy enjoyed every bit of it. He also tried applying for a driver's license at 14, claiming he had no other option of getting to school, of course it was such transparent bull, his application got rejected at first. He then begged Neil to help him. His dad did, used his military connections. At 15 and a half Billy was already behind the wheel of his super dope car.

As soon as Billy got his own car, Max was handed over to him, hanging like a concrete slab around his neck. Take her there and there, pick her up, wait for her. Be very careful when you drive. Do not ever exceed the speed limit. Personal chauffeur, damn it. No complaints allowed.

Billy put two and two together and figured out pretty quickly why his dad had been so eager to help with getting that license.

Max? She has always been the privileged one since the day she appeared in his life. Max became and still was his unwanted responsibility. He was doing fine, being an only child, and then one day, he got a fucking sister he never asked for.

His father married this colourless shadow of a woman, Susan, four years ago, and then, when Neil's job was over, they decided to move to the ass of the world, a nowhere town called Hawkins, cause Susan is from Indiana, and some of her relatives still live around here somewhere. Apparently, Susan had fallen in love a long time ago, moved to California, had this red-haired misunderstanding, then something had gone wrong, as with most marriages. But with Neil, it actually went right. Four years and counting, of this mind-numbing righteousness. The jury is still out on that though, but these two seem to fit together, both so boring and ceremonious, and with baggage in the form of children from previous relationships. It's hard to find a match with a kid hanging around your neck. Susan and Neil are trying. To build a fucking family.

So after Susan's brainwashing, Neil found some work here, in this joke of a town, on a farm or something, and off the whole family joyfully went.

Billy is taking a long drag of his Marlboro. It's a bit chilly this morning but, he must admit, it's not unpleasant. Although he already misses the sun like crazy.

Where the fuck is Max? They are fucking gonna be late for school on their first fucking day, for fuck's sake.

Billy suspected it wasn't that easy with Max's dad. Maybe she missed him. Maybe he was an asshole to Susan, just like his dad was to his mom. Divorce is never easy, and it hits kids the hardest. But Billy was jealous. Susan took Max with her. Unlike Billy's mom who bailed and left him with Neil. Why, Mom? Billy wasn't little anymore, he understood why.

But like a fucking toddler, he was jealous, of Max. His mother didn't want him.

They still don't know the whole truth about this idiotic move. Billy bets Max thinks it's because Neil wants his son to be as far from California as possible. It's stupid. His mom left without a trace, why resurface after so many years? That's not a threat. Billy's money on the opposite idea - Max's father could be involved in that shit. Maybe Susan wanted to tear all strings with that man.

Maybe not. Billy really doesn't give a flying fuck.

One year, that's it, then Billy can leave wherever his eyes take him. University on scholarship, very possible. Has to study hard, of course, and he can when he wants it... Maybe a gap year. Maybe just a job, in that same garage in San Diego, why not, really?

He just needs to fucking leave. He doesn't owe anyone shit. Well, we do owe, as his father always tells him. Life is full of responsibilities, that's real.

Mom left him. She didn't and doesn't owe anything to anyone. She probably had this in mind when she ran.

If Billy is really honest, it's all crap. We do owe, if we love someone. Or if someone is just close to you. He hates to agree with Neil, but sometimes he does.

Mom. Mom is his pain, and only his. No one cares about this, and no one needs to. No-one has to know. Everything is clear as the brightest daylight. Only this voiceless Susan wouldn't run away from Neil. Billy noticed that Susan's eyes are always cast down when Neil's at it with him. She avoids looking, like if she doesn't look, she doesn't have to deal with it, that's not her problem. She doesn't see the problem.

Maybe that's her secret. Cause living with Neil is truly unbearable. All brains will be thoroughly fucked by his dull moral teachings. With Billy's mom? It sure didn't work out. She tried though, for eight fucking years. It couldn't have worked out between Neil and her.

Billy remembers, Neil was so angry and jealous too. She must've found somebody else.

Billy understands it. It's just that, why have a child, a question for all of you responsible fucking adults? Was it really necessary to have him? They shouldn't have had him. What the fuck for? Only to quit? To abandon your kid? Leave him all alone in the house with Neil fucking Hargrove?

Yeah, Neil didn't quit on him. Thanks for that, I guess, Dad. I'd really appreciate it if you were less of an asshole, but that's probably on me. Uh-oh, the son turned out completely wrong.

Billy would, truly appreciate the fact that Neil hadn't abandoned him, if his father hadn't drained Billy's whole soul during all these years.

It was a fucking dick move to bring Billy into the world, like, no-one benefitted from it. Fucking useless.

Billy knows he won't have children. Well, maybe, but only in the distant, faraway future. Kids are actually cool, and Billy always pities them with his whole turned-out-not-the-way-we-wanted heart. Adults generally don't give a shit what the kids think or feel. They just use them, for... literally for anything. Own ambitions, exaggerated expectations, an outlet for frustration and aggression. Money. The sense of being in power. Dump it all on the kids, they are resilient. They'll adapt, everything is fine. They'll manage.

If Billy ever, ever, gets a little creature to raise, then he will definitely never leave them. Maybe he won't marry at all. If everything goes well, he might take a kid from an orphanage when he's like... 40 or something. He can be a single father, why not? Relationships are overrated. Marriage is overrated. Love is mostly bullshit, people fuck and have kids, then they run from their children like from the plague. Very few actually care about kids. In these seldom cases, the little motherfuckers have hit the jackpot.

Billy has always liked kids. Little ones, not the obnoxious teens like Max. The worst age, for fuck’s sake. No, the little kids who look at the world with wide open eyes and say the most honest shit there is. Still unbroken. Still happy, even if they've already seen that life's fucking unfair. Even if the world has shown them its ugly face, but they still somehow believe it.

Okay, what the fuck, enough with that cesspool of sadness, what's wrong with him. It's fucking pathetic.

It's probably just the first day in a new place, the nerves are acting up. Well, they've already been here a week, but it's the new school day, so.

He'll just have to hold out for a year here, fuck, it's only nine months basically, and then beat it, dust under the tires, miles away from his dad.

Dammit, is Max going to school today or not? Neil has already left for work, so there's no harm in showing a little disrespect. Billy honks the car horn couple of times, out of irritation.

Finally, Max rolls out of the house, thank fuck for that. Red-haired monster.

She jumps into the passenger's seat, like it wasn't on her.

"Mom was packing lunch!"

"Mom? Lunch? Well, hold on then, you dimwit. It's gonna be your fault."

Billy calmly drives away from the house to a safe distance and then floors the gas pedal, not without a tinge of pleasure. Makes the music louder, Scorpions are so good this fine morning. Let's fucking go.

He hears Max shrieking something like, "Billy, are you nuts?!? We're gonna crash!"

Same old, every goddamn time. Like Max really thinks Billy's gonna slow down if she's hollering like the chickenshit that she is. He's just gonna go faster.

"You should've packed your stupid lunch quicker. Now we're gonna be late because of you. And don't even think of ratting me out to the parents for speeding."

Max pouts and shuts up. She only clings to the safety belt, as if it would help her if they crashed for real. They won't. Billy knows his car like the back of his hand and he is an excellent driver. Driving and cars are two things that he's pretty good at.

Billy also likes basketball. Dribbling that ball, blood pumping, shoving other guys' sweaty lean bodies around the pitch, the euphoria of scoring.

And he has... well, had a great surfboard. Left it at a friend's place back in Cali, the fuck he was gonna do with a board in Hawkins, fucking Indiana. The friend promised not to use it too much but to take it out for a spin occasionally. He put in the garage, told Billy to come back for it. With god's help, Billy will surf on it again one day.

That's like his best friend, Nick. They've known each other for ages. Billy sometimes caught himself thinking that he would probably try something with Nick. Something like fooling around, in bed, that is. Billy thought about it a couple of times when they were stoned as fuck, sitting on the floor of Nick's bedroom. But Nick had a girlfriend since forever. Like real love and everything. And Billy respected that. Also like... Billy isn't stupid. There is no need to throw sex into the mix with good friendship. Now with the new school starting, everything will get going, he should call Nick, tell him how fucking lame it is here, ask how things are back in San Diego.

Billy wonders if they have some good weed here. There is a plastic bag at the bottom of his suitcase, under all his clothes. Nick gave it to him as a parting gift. Not to go completely off the rails with boredom here.

Drugs? Billy saw what drugs do to people. No, thanks. He smokes weed, but that's it. Well, he has tried molly a couple of times they went to big events with a crowd, but anyway, it's a fucking slippery slope, so no.

Alcohol, cigarettes, weed, sex when it's available. Driving his baby around which makes him feel alive. Working out. No surfing here obviously, but he's already signed up for the school basketball team.

Without all this maddening pressure from his dad and his heavy hand, Billy's life wouldn’t actually be so bad.

In California. Here it's gonna suck ass.

At the bottom of the suitcase there are also magazines, the latest issues. Not only the latest ones, but also those that he especially likes.

And if he has a couple of another kind of mags lying around under ordinary Playboys, then this is only his business. His father would kill him on the spot, no doubt about that, if he ever found out. But Neil didn't even welcome girls. Called them all whores anyways, like Billy wasn't even able to find anyone good.

First you need to get an education, son, decide on a job, and only then date a respectable girl, blah blah blah. Well, he's basically right about getting a job and stuff. Like...a relationship is at the bottom of Billy's priority list right now. Hell, it's not even on the list.

So Billy would bring a girl home only if he knew for sure that his father was not there and would not be for a long time. Billy couldn't even imagine what would happen if he brought a guy home. Ohh what a shitshow it would be. It'd definitely end up being a crime scene with the police and that yellow tape.

There is also Susan. And Max, the fucking snitch. Yeah, fuck it. At least masturbation to any kind of magazines won't bring him unwanted problems.

Also, if you do bring a girl home and they catch you, you'll end up answering all these annoying questions. What and who, what's her name and who are the parents... Who the fuck cares who her parents are. What were you doing there in your room, Billy? We were listening to music and holding hands, for fuck’s sake, Dad, leave me alone. Nope. Leave me alone - that's a very wrong thing to say to his father. Billy will immediately get smacked on the lips for such disrespect. Or worse.

Billy takes out another cigarette and lights up. Well, here's the new school. He drove so fast, they got here in under seven minutes. Of course, upon approaching the parking lot, he had to slow down, one of his most favourite songs blasting through the speakers.

Fucking hell, Billy still can't believe he ended up in this godforsaken swamp of a town. He misses his life back in Cali, he was doing so good there. It's gonna be a hell of a long year.

"Don't be late after school or you're skating home."

Max doesn't even say thank you for the ride, just bangs the door. What a spoiled little brat. Billy hates it when she does that, he hates that she gets away with it, she gets away with fucking everything. Next time she slams the door of his car, he's gonna teach her not to ever do it again.

He sets his boot on the ground. Heavy. Like his fucking heart.

Max is off to the middle school.

Billy is scanning the parking lot. Everything looks ordinary, everyone is busy with their own stuff. Most of the cars are the boring usual, but a couple catch his eye... That BMW over there looks interesting, apparently, someone got lucky with a rich daddy. That must be the rich kid, in a striped polo, bleh. He eats money for breakfast, it's so obvious. Staring at Billy like he's just seen Jesus descending from the clouds. What a dumb bitch. He must be the hottest one around here. Hairstyle and all that, a girl hanging on his arm. Surrounded by the court of jesters and such. Billy fucking hates rich kids. They are full of shit, rotten through and through.

Not far away, there are girls lined up in a row, assessing the new guy. There, in California, Billy was, of course, a 10 out of 10, but honestly lots of guys there were fit, tanned, with dazzling smiles and that special something about them. Like they are... carefree. Life by the ocean gives you this, like a gift. No matter how much it hurt sometimes, the ocean always, always helped. Healed him. It's 1779 miles away now. The Atlantic is closer. Billy craves water washing over his feet.

So yeah, Billy looks good. He knows it. However, if back in California Billy's looks are nothing special, here, oh here he'll be a fucking curiosity. He bets he'll get lots of girls drooling to get a piece of his hot ass.

They are already checking out his car. Well, sure he can have fun, it's the last year of school, after all. Just nothing serious. And, most importantly, no one gets pregnant. Double bag it.

Billy was already beginning to get the sense of dull annoyance, with girls. They just want to get the status of a girlfriend. Then plan their whole life, his too. He doesn't fucking need it. So who cares about a relationship. Sex with no feelings involved is always a good option though.

Billy smiles to himself as he sees the chicks twirling their hair. A couple of them don't look so bad either. The rest is meh.

He throws what's left of his cigarette and heads for his first class.

@dragonflylady77 a huge thank you for your help💖

***

Chapter 2

[nothorses]

If you grow up in a religion other than Christianity you’ll probably be a lot more aware of Christian influences on the wider culture because you’ll be exposed to that religion’s worldview firsthand. I was raised atheist in America and learning about various religions later in life I’ve been shocked how many Christian assumptions I internalized. But cultural Christian discourse often veers into the idea that atheists have full access to Christian privilege which is some serious BS.

Spending time in a different religion can absolutely make those things easier for someone to notice, but the thing is that you really can't make assumptions about how aware a person actually is based on their beliefs, or their family's beliefs.

I've seen people say that atheists as a whole are "culturally christian", but atheists can be Jewish, they can come from other religious backgrounds, and they can come from other cultural backgrounds.

I've seen people qualify that as "ex-christian atheists", but "ex-christian" doesn't mean anything other than that you were, at some point, christian. You could have also spent time in another religion, or come from a different culture.

I've seen people qualify it as "atheists who were raised christian"; what about atheists who were raised christian and another religion? What about atheists who also spent time in another religion?

And even if you were to qualify it as just, like, "people who have only ever been atheist and/or christian"- what about folks who've spent time with other influences?

Even if you were trying to identify specifically people who have never had any other cultural or religious influences: those people can still be just as aware of those things than folks who did have those outside influences.

This assumption that atheists are inherently more susceptible to "christian culture" has roots in two historically anti-atheist ideas:

Atheists have no morality of their own, and are inherently more likely to do Bad Things. They must be guided by religious (usually christian) people.

Atheists lack any kind of tangible ideas or beliefs of their own, and are therefore easier to convert.

Both of these ideas see atheism as a kind of "absence", rather than the presence of unique or valuable ideas.

I grew up atheist, and I can absolutely attest to the fact that this is something that very tangibly shaped the way I think about the world. Theese are ideas or attributes aren't exclusive to this upbringing, but just for example:

Death is not a looming fearful, taboo, miserable thing in my family; it's a natural and complete end to someone's life, and we discuss it pretty openly. Our memorials are a nostalgic celebration of that person's life.

I realized a lot of social "rules" were determined by Christian morality, and decided to build my own internal system of morality based on what I believed to be fundamentally important- which lead me to being interrogating and thinking deeply about everything I believed, and why.

I realized life was random & meaningless when I was very young, and decided this meant that my "purpose" was just a goal I got to make for myself, and change whenever I wanted to.

I decided that the most sensible trajectory was to just try to be happy- which means being the best version of yourself, in the best version of your community. Which means putting in the work to make that happen.

These are ideas people can absolutely develop through other cultures and beliefs, and they don't come with atheism for everyone, either; atheism just happened to be the reason for me. Just like another religion making someone more aware of christian hegemony doesn't mean it needs to be the reason for everyone.

[terrence-silver]

(Basically, I devised a full backstory for Jack Blaylock from Ulterior Motives (1992)

---

Timothy Calloway is a military brat.

Born to American parents stationed in Japan (either one or both working as military personnel to some degree) and I genuinely don’t ever think he set foot on American soil (at least not well into his adulthood when his later profession took him there, but it would be deeply ironic if he never did at all), which led to this strange disconnect where he was both raised with the type of ingrained mega-patriotism one can only acquire from parents — you guessed it — employed with the army abroad and a family in the same profession multiple generations back, but all while actually being physically, culturally and geographically detached enough from his supposed home cradle to not actually know or having personally experienced anything tangible about The States except some idealized, hybrid version that maybe doesn’t even necessarily exists outside of a nationalist pamphlet or a Norman Rockwell painting. It doesn’t help when your basic and most elementary education took place on foreign soil school dedicated especially to the children of on stand army employees either. It would’ve been like growing up in an insular bubble.

Which is exactly what it was.

Thing is, Timothy is technically more Japanese than American all while not being ethnically Japanese at all (A cause for bitterness and complicated feelings where identity is concerned, perhaps?) He learned to speak Japanese back to back with English from his earliest years, he learned to write the same way, he observed customs, knows the nuances, knows the cuisine, knows the history, the mentality, the ‘what to do’s’ and ‘what not to do’s’ but he still sticks out like a sore thumb and is more often than not deemed a tourist by natives and actual tourists on sight alike, even though he was born in Japan (and is a legal citizen with no dual citizenship to anywhere else), his parents spent their whole lives in Japan, great great grandparents very much the same and he possibly has familial roots in the country going back at least as far back as WWII, with his whole relation having been raised around military bases since the very start.

As such, ironically, his pastoral fantasy ‘All American’ white picket fence idyllic dream home is actually located in the countryside of Japan (Where he grew up), where, according to him ‘eight generations have previously lived’ — possibly a household built by his ancestors who might’ve, at one point, been wealthy and extravagant enough to simply be able to afford to have a summer vacation home as far as the other side of the globe (Perhaps, ambassadors of some sort? Missionaries? Someone with enough disposable income to be able to pull off such an endeavor?); naturally, which ended up being an unsustainable revenue and somewhere down the line as the decades passed. This is an estate Timothy’s family lost for any number of reasons. War. Debt. Crime. Gambling. Lack of funds. The presence of wealthy foreigners on Japanese soil (validly) being a bit of a sore spot for many an enemy who wanted to be rid of them. Run-ins with unsavory syndicats. Banks. You name it. Basically, once Timothy lost this piece of property ‘from a better and more simpler time’, he lost his very own piece of pocket Americana outside of America as the only tangible representation of roots he ever had, and he became some guy with and without a country who didn’t exactly belong anywhere anymore.

I think once Timothy couldn’t belong anywhere anymore, he became Jack Blaylock.

Basically, what I mean to say by this is that I can genuinely imagine Timothy turned homeless very early on, perhaps as an older teenager (16-17 years of age, give or take). I do imagine his parents died. Or were killed. Any such combination is very much believable. I imagine he was orphaned, I think his childhood home was lost and foreclosed because there was no adult left to manage it and Timothy hit the streets — too young to be left to his own devices and too old for the system or for anyone to want to adopt (He was this six foot tall white kid who already looked like an adult and came with a whole world of baggage — not exactly anyone’s model child for adoption).

He couldn’t go back to the States because he was not a citizen (and had nobody to speak of there to Sponsor him), and he didn’t exactly feel like a part of the very country he was born to, left to fend for himself entirely forsaken in a place that was as known as it was foreign, resorting to petty crime, scams, pickpocketing, theft, the occasional jail time, juvenile detention and being tossed back to the streets again until he reached legal age and he was entirely alone; Eighteen and with already enough lived experience to put most grown people to shame. I think falling down the rabbit hole of being groomed and scouted to start roughing up people for money as a pipeline leading to begin killing as well was only so easy. He was big, he was tall, he had the way of the streets about him and had nothing and nobody to lose. Most importantly, he was foreign enough where he could be used to do dirty jobs no local wanted traced back to them, preserving their reputations intact. It was one crook hiring him, then another and another — handling petty vendettas, retaliations, spying, gangster disputes, money extortion, transporting packages, the work of a loan shark, roughing someone up — you name it — until word spread on the street that this kid is good and he started getting serious contractors and began making buck. I think this is how he got embroidered with that corrupt politician we see in the movie. Malcolm Carter?

I think this is around the time Timothy Calloway legally had to ‘die’.

And Jack Blaylock was invented as a false identity.

(Possibly even one of many identities)

Malcolm Carter sponsored Jack, introduced him to important and powerful people, made sure he earns himself a more cultured sleek, polishing away some of his rougher street manners, endowed him with anything from exclusive weapons, the ability to learn how to use them, an indefinite amount of cash, an apartment to utilize as a base of operations, the ability to travel anywhere when necessary, a job as a Detective and a Private Investigator he could use as a ‘front’, he gave him connections, expensive suits, nice shades, nice shoes, the perks of being in close ties with some who possesses diplomatic immunity — but the price was that Jack  started doing high profile, high stake hit jobs for him exclusively and this mentorship extended to Carter being Jack’s maker in the figurative and literal sense, forming something of a relationship with him that stood on the foundation of lies and gaslighting, promising Jack anything from the ability to ensure he gets his familiar home back and the understanding that ‘Americans should stick together out in the great big World’ and that one day, ‘the gilded ancestral manor of his family will be rightfully restored to him’. Of course, these promises from a supposed father figure turned handler to a supposed son figure turned terminator extended from plans that should’ve taken place somewhere in the near future to a full two decade working contract between Blaylock and Carter, during which, not only did their relationship become highly codependent, festering, bitter and mutually jilted, landing Jack in jail several times due to Carter’s machinations (even though Carter was always there to pull him out) they couldn’t break apart from each other because they mutually knew too much compromising information about one another to go their separate ways. That is, how, in essence, Jack Blaylock ended up trapped being an assassin for people of importance all while living a fake civilian life to cover up his more obscure dalliances. He began this trade before he even turned twenty, and well nearing his forties, he was in his prime and very much at it, having spent his whole life up until that point killing and knowing nothing else but killing, subterfuge, extortion, seduction, executions and murder for hire. Except, Jack doesn’t even believe himself stuck anymore. He’s far too gone for that.

 This is who he is now.

[renarots]

🏎️💨 THE FORMULA 1 TAG GAME! 🏎️💨:

tagged by @solaireverie

thanks pookie <3

1. Who or what got you into F1?

i grew up in a pretty big nascar family, my family would put it on the tv instead of watching the kids and natural progression i fell in love with motorsports. i do think a combination of seeing the tooned cartoon and me being fascinated by the engineering in the cars dragged me fully into f1.

2. Who was the very first F1 driver you supported? Do you support them now? Have your opinions on them differed or stayed the same since then?

for me it was fernando alonso and jenson button. although jenson is retired i still watch him in his other series like nascar. i still support fernando as well although i feel like it passed the torch on to lando when he was the reserve for mclaren and then later took the seat at mclaren. if you cant tell im a huge mclaren girl.

3. Who’s your current favourite F1 driver?

lando norris and yuki tsunoda, cant pick one but yeah theyre my ultimate pookies 🫶

4. Is there a driver pairing or pairings you support? What made you attracted to that pairing in the first place?

my biggest driver pairing right now is lando and oscar, i think their pairing is what lando needed and what oscar needed and theyve already shown they push eachother so i cant wait for this season. my ultimate that i think about is fernando and mark tho, theyre my roman empire. from them always misisng eachother as teammates and then the infamous abu dhabi 2010. i could go on an essay about them (as a treat i also love nando and jenson)

5. Do your parents, siblings or relatives have a favourite driver?

no but i did get my friends and their cats into it. one of them is a ferrari fan and the other is a mclaren girl more leaning towards op81 but im gonna make her an ln4 girl soon. her cats are both mclaren cats but one only loves lando, she legit gets disinterested when someone else is on screen. one time she literally followed landos car off screen and my friend didnt even know that was lando so she was surprised her cat caught on to him.

6. Do you have any favourite races? Are there any that stand out to you the most?

i know i mentioned it before but abu dhabi 2010 is definitely one i watch a lot. 2020 austrian gp as well, even tho lando got the podium cause of disqualification it still holds a special place in my heart. Runner ups are silverstone 2023 and Abu Dhabi 2023 where pookies lead the race for a period of time.

7. Do you have a favourite circuit? Can be from the past or from the current calendar.

singapore is lovely, silverstone because of this year with lando leading the gp just really put it up there, and i think interlagos always has me excited, even if mclaren has a bad track record with it (please get your shit together for quali guys)

8. Have you ever been to an F1 race in real life? Feel free to tell us your experience going to one if you like.

ive never been to one theyre too expensive in america to go to one but i have been to a couple nascar races and those were so lovely. im hoping to take my friends and i to the suzuka gp next year tho (its so much cheaper please f1 sort your shitty pricing please)

9. Have you ever met an F1 driver in real life?

no and id rather melt into the floor than meet one

10. Do you have a favourite F1 car? If so, what is it?

i think the rb19 (rocky) has to be my fave rn if you asked me a year ago i would say otherwise but from an engineering standpoint rocky is the most beautiful piece of machinery ive laid my eyes on (excluding my beautiful b&m rollercoasters of course (my first love fr))

11. Do you have a favourite one win wonder?

not really tbh

12. Do you have any favourite quotes from the F1 world? This can either be inspirational or hilarious.

"i nearly said i wouldnt want to be married to him but obviously i- im happily married to a lady but" -mark webber (🫵🏳️‍🌈❓)

"who is the blind guy in the alpha tauri?" -fernando alonso (even tho it was against yuki it was so funny from this years radios)

"soy lago" -lando norris (i miss carlando guys)

"fernando is faster than you" -rob smedley

realised thats a lot of fernando related quotes but oh well 🤷‍♀️

🏷️ <3

@dumbf1sketches @formulafics @disneyprincemuke @lovewithmary @piasstrisblog @bekaillustrates @honeyhobbs and anyone who would like to participate

[blindmagdalena]

Sooo I was rewatching season 2 the other day and got an idea when ❌tormfront told Ryan that he was the first naturally born Supe.

Imagining an OC fem reader who’s mom has laser vision, is bulletproof and has super strength, and father has the ability to fly and super sense, and super strength. And the OC inherits both parents power sets. How would Homelander react to meeting a girl just like him? Just as strong as him, yet never had to go through the torture he had to go through in the labs. Who grew up with a happy family, where OC parents encouraged their powers?

Would he loathe them? Or be hyperfixated on him?

Just stupid thoughts at 3 AM. Hope you have a wonderful week!!!

frostiislushii asked:

Even though the likelihood is low (practically even zero), how exactly do you think Homelander would react if Vought managed to make a hero that matched or rivaled his powers and the hero quickly became America's new favourite? Bonus points if the new hero isnt even American.

Would Homelander try to fight for his position back after being pouty and sulky for a while? Or would it be immediate violence like all hell broke loose.

This has been simmering in my brain for 3 days now-

hope it's okay that i combine these two asks!

so far, Homelander and Ryan are the only supes to have multiple powers due to Vought's genetic meddling on Homelander, and potentially due to the insane amounts of V in/comprising his system. but theoretically, let's say we wind up with a supe who shares his powerset.

it would be a harsh split right down the middle for Homelander, who would both seethe at the thought of being replaced, but would be enamored with the thought of someone equal to him. in order to protect himself from jealousy or anger, he would fixate on the idea that they were made for him. his perfect partner. their only reason to exist is FOR him.

also his misogyny means he would never think a woman could truly replace him. and this is largely true! his own fanbase probably would still prefer him, even if the new girl won over a lot of folks. we see that play out quite a lot in s3.

it's easy to think that Homelander would resent someone who didn't have to endure what he did, and maybe part of him does, but in reality i think that would actually be a relief for him. it means his trauma is HIS. he doesn't have to reconcile THEIR trauma. they are 100% available to him—no, they owe it to him to shoulder his traumatic past.

ultimately, Homelander's priority is going to be that his emotional needs are met. someone who shares his strength but not his burdens is the perfect candidate to do just that.

[ingek73]

Guns and lies

US elections 2024

How Tim Walz went from NRA favorite to ‘straight Fs’ on gun rights

In Congress, Walz was endorsed by gun rights advocates. But after the Parkland shooting, he changed his tone

Cecilia Nowell

Fri 9 Aug 2024 14.00 BST

Supported by

Cal Wellness for Guns

At his first rally as Kamala Harris’s running mate Tuesday, Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, invoked an issue at the forefront of many Americans’ minds: the right “for our children to be free to go to school without worrying they’ll be shot dead in their classrooms”.

But Walz wasn’t always a fierce advocate against gun violence. The evolution of the vice-presidential candidate, who once boasted an A rating from the NRA, shows the growing relevance of gen Z voters, who’ve grown up amid a surge in mass shootings in the US and are enthusiastically backing Harris.

“Gun violence is the number one killer of our generation, meaning we can’t afford anything less than leaders who will prioritize basic gun safety,” Timberlyn Mazeikis, a gun violence survivor and volunteer leader with Students Demand Action from Minnesota, said in a joint statement issued by Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action supporting Walz yesterday.

Kamala Harris And Running Mate Tim Walz Make First Appearance Together In Philadelphia<br>PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 6: Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appear on stage together during a campaign event at Girard College on August 6, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harris ended weeks of speculation about who her running mate would be, selecting the 60-year-old midwestern governor over other candidates. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Tim Walz cheat sheet: 10 things to know about Harris’s VP pick

Read more

Elected to the US House of Representatives in 2007, Walz was long beloved by gun rights advocates. The National Rifle Association endorsed and donated to his campaigns, giving him an A rating. In 2016 Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners.

That wasn’t terribly surprising. Walz was representing a rural red Minnesota district and had grown up at a time and place where guns were popular for hunting – not mass shootings.

“I grew up in a small town, [so] I’d put my shotgun in my car, or at school or in the football locker, to go pheasant hunting afterwards,” he told Pod Save America last month. “But we weren’t getting shot in school.”

That all changed after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, he has said.

In a 2018 video March for Our Lives co-founder and Parkland survivor David Hogg reshared on X last month, Walz recounts his then teenage daughter Hope approaching him in the days after the shooting: “Dad, you’re the only person I know who’s in elected office, you need to stop what’s happening with this.”

“For me, it was both a reckoning and an embarrassment,” he told Pod Save America, recalling that the children killed at Sandy Hook elementary school would have been his son’s age.

Two weeks later, while campaigning for governor, Walz authored an op-ed in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, where he called the NRA “the biggest single obstacle to passing the most basic measures to prevent gun violence in America”. He went on to say that he’d donated the $18,000 the organization had donated to his past campaigns and wouldn’t accept NRA contributions in the future. He noted that he was currently co-sponsoring a “bump stocks” ban and came out in support of an assault weapons ban.

As Minnesota governor, Walz has signed wide-ranging gun safety measures into law, most notably a 2023 law including universal background checks and a “red flag law” (which allows state officials to temporarily seize the firearms of someone a court has ruled may be dangerous to themselves or others).

This year, Walz called for Minnesota lawmakers to go even further, asking them to support measures that would require safe firearm storage, better reporting of lost and stolen guns, and harsher penalties for “straw buyers” (those who purchase firearms for others who cannot legally have them). Since then, he’s signed legislation that prohibits automatic weapon modification devices and collects data on gun crime.

Walz remains an enthusiastic hunter – something he’s emphasized in previous campaigns and makes him something of an everyman.

“There’s a vision to reduce gun violence with absolutely no infringement on those who lawfully own guns, to use them for things that many of us cherish,” he told reporters in Bloomington, Minnesota, last week.

Gun safety advocates have already come out in support of his candidacy, including the gun violence prevention organization founded by former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords (who joined Walz in Minnesota in 2023 when he signed the state’s universal background checks into law).

“As governor, Tim did what others called impossible, passing background checks and extreme risk protection laws in Minnesota with a slim gun safety majority,” Giffords said. “It wasn’t easy, but he got it done with hard work and effective leadership. His work as governor has saved lives, and I know that will continue when he is vice-president.”

Harris’s campaign, which has already drawn great support from gen Z voters and gun violence prevention advocates, has called for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and red flag laws. Last month, the NRA called her “an existential threat to the second amendment”.

That doesn’t seem to bother Walz. “I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s,” he tweeted last month. “And I sleep just fine.”

[anxiously-kk]

ok so i’m about to be reflective and rambly about some of my thoughts on the season so im putting it under a read more incase you want to skip because it is soooo long omg

ok so a lot of criticism on this season has been about The Flip™️ and how it ruined both corys game and the season. but i don’t think it’s that simple. to me there are many moments and choices that get made that helped build into the situation we are in now. flipping the vote on reilly week two which gave matt a huge chip on his shoulder and a wild vendetta against those who wronged her leading him to base so many moves on what she would want. was it good for cirie and izzy at the time i think it was but it did have long term consequences. you could also say that hisam telling his alliance they had to get matt out next but them flipping on hisam instead plus cirie green lighting matt saving jag(this isn’t all on her but she said she regrets not trying to stop him harder so i added it) lead to them forming a super tight bond that has helped them run the back half of the game. you could say leaving cameron (and bowie to an extent) out of the red blindside turning cams focus onto the ladies was unnecessary and it would have been better to include them. maybe that was the smarter play cause cam would have tried to stop it or maybe it made an unnecessary enemy. Maybe if meme hadn’t also been left out of that blindside till the last second cory wouldn’t have been able to get her to go along with the flip.

now in regards to the flip in question by this point that early core group had flipped (and blindsided) their alliance members more than once and cirie told matt she played path to power but not cory which eventually got back to him gave cory a reasonable opinion that they didn’t trust him and could cut him easily just like hisam and red. when you add that info to the fact that jared was acting like a total fool and on some extreme anti-cory shit that week plus izzy saying point blank america needs to go asap i wouldnt have felt secure with them either. now let’s be honest should have flipped that vote at that time even with all that info most likely not in my opinion because izzy at least liked him and was working with him while felicia could never let go of the belief that he was untrustworthy and that hurt him down the road. but would that have got him much further in the game? and would it have stopped the matt nag show? that’s hard to say because you can’t change one variable and assume every other event stays the same you know? like if izzy stayed but cory grew closer to america would they have gotten sketched and cut him earlier, or if he decided to ditch america would she have felt like she couldn’t trust cory and tried to turn people against him, if the blow up didn’t happen that week jared probably wouldn’t have been evicted that same night, so who would have gone in his place and how would that impact the game, if two people who were evicted didn’t have a whole week to chill in the house and put the game on pause would it not have given jatt time to set themselves up as the power structure or would cory have been able to keep momentum going and put together a solid group? instead? so i do think they should have taken out felicia that week probably but i don’t think doing so guarantees better results. i think its physics that’s like every action has an equal and opposite reaction and that’s true here too. this is a living game where people react to what is happening around them. every choice someone makes builds on each other any of those moments that i mentioned could have the right move or they could have backfired but they don’t exist in a vacuum you can’t isolate them from each other because one scenario only exists because of a choice someone else made

[erigold13261]

am i the only one who thinks kliff has been saying "chai tea" for so long despite growing up in malaysia

I actually personally see Kliff as growing up in South Korea! It's why him and Neon J became friends at some point (and probably why Neon met Martha as I can see Martha and Kliff being friends just because of both of them being Caucasian).

So I can still see Kliff calling it chai tea, especially if that's what his parents would have called it as that is a specific kind of tea in America, so his parents (who I see as Americans who moved to South Korea) would call it that and Kliff would have just called it that as well since he grew up with it.

He'd definitely get defensive about it if someone tried to call him out on it though lol. Basically saying it technically is a classification of tea, so even though it's literally "tea tea" saying "chai tea" is not completely incorrect. So yeah, he'd just do the "well actually-" thing.