#self defense dvds

[ultsurvivor]

sayaka maizono isn't a snake

an explanation of why she did what she did, and my opinions on her as a character

danganronpa thh spoilers

her motivation

if you've seen danganronpa, you know it's a killing game. at the beginning of this game, every participant was shown a dvd that insinuated that their loved ones were in danger, or dead. sayaka was of course traumatized by the footage, since it was her band mates in the video. this caused her to devise a plan.

the plan

sayaka's plan consisted of murdering leon, and making it appear as though makoto was the culprit. this plan went into action when she and makoto swapped rooms, with him agreeing because she didn't feel safe in hers. unknown to makoto, she switched the nameplates on their doors. she then wrote a note that claimed she found an escape, and slipped it under leon's door.

her death

later in the night, leon arrived. he was then attacked, and by acting in self defense, broke sayaka's wrist. she went into makoto's bathroom, and since leon thought it was locked, he left to grab a tool kit to break in. after he got back in, he stabbed her, and she wrote his name in blood on the wall.

her reasoning

the rules stated that if you killed someone and got away with it, you'd graduate. she obviously saw an opportunity here. her band members were in trouble, and if she got out she could help. her plan backfired though, and leon was executed soon after killing her due to his name being on the wall.

why she isn't a "snake"

in a killing game, people will obviously attempt to get out of it. desperate times call for drastic measures. she probably assumed if she didn't make the first move, someone would kill her first. but the fandom does forget that it's danganronpa, and in games and media like this people lose all sense of what's "morally correct." sayaka wasn't thinking about the morality of throwing makoto under the bus, she just wanted to get out, and it's understandable. she's not a bad person for what she did, most of the fandom's favorite characters have done something just as bad, or worse. leon came back to finish the job, but he doesn't get the same treatment. the way the fandom treats her is absolutely rooted in misogyny. they see her as a "snake" or a "backstabber" but don't treat any other male character who's done something just as bad the same. so many people in this fandom wait for a reason to hate on a female character, and this proves it.

during and after the trial

if sayaka truly wanted makoto dead, she wouldn't have tried to write leon's name, a clear indicator that he did it instead of makoto. the fact she did this proves she isn't heartless, it proves that she regretted what she did. kyoko even stated that the message saved makoto's life, and shows that sayaka did care about him. if she didn't, she would've let him take the blame, and leon would've graduated instead.

makoto forgave her anyway

makoto even forgave her! she betrayed him, but she understood her reasoning and didn't hold it against her, even when he would have been falsely accused for a crime he didn't commit. he doesn't believe that any of his friends are bad people, and his behavior through the game proves that. he never expresses hatred for what they did, only understanding. he hadn't even blamed leon despite him going back to finish the job, he blamed monokuma for forcing them into this.

in conclusion

calling sayaka a snake is wrong, and rooted in misogyny. she atoned for what she did with her last breaths, and was forgiven by the person she wronged. the fandom labels her incorrectly despite some of their favorites being way worse.

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 21: all the ashes in my way

"But my peace has always depended on all the ashes in my way." -Arsonist's Lullabye by Hozier

Regent Masterlist Part 20 A03 Mundane Macabre (Main) TW: mention of infertility

September finally came to a close without much fanfare. The month had seen the very world rocked and many people were still left reeling from the implication that they had very nearly had a war with the Infinite Realms to contend with. Gothamites were eager to get October over with, thanks to the Rogues deciding Halloween was the perfect time to launch an assault against the city. 

However, with the new found peace established between the aforementioned Realms and the mortal world, with the encouragement of the Phantom vigilante (a self-proclaimed ghost who haunts the Ridge), Gothamites cautiously prepared for Samhain celebrations instead. 

It was a big deal to Phantom. 

Outside of his vigilantism, Danny Nightingale was doing well in school, test scores and grades soaring through the roof. An almost visible weight had been lifted from his shoulders with the abolishment of the Anti-Ecto Acts. He even began to hang out with the youngest Wayne, Damian, outside of school to the surprise of many. 

The Waynes and Nightingales were becoming closer by the day with Jasmine and Jason’s relationship status revealed and all the cards laid out on the table between all involved. 

Jasmine and Dick Grayson bonded over their shared Eldest Daughter Syndrome, while Jazz and Steph bonded over villainous parents. Add Cass to the mix, the three women got along like a house on fire.

(The three enjoyed their girl time, bonding over clothes, movies and the occasional beat down.) 

(The two loved to tease Jazz about Jason.) 

With the two lovebirds (a Nightingale and a Robin), their relationship had changed dramatically…though only a few knew why.

There was something wrong with her body and for the life of her, Jazz could not figure out what it was. 

She’d been nauseous lately, especially when she was a good distance from the ground. Typically, one might chalk it up to a fear of heights, but Jazz had never ever suffered from acrophobia. Perhaps the altitude adjustment? That didn’t make sense either because she’d been a vigilante for months and had no physical reactions to sudden elevation change. She’d even thrown up a couple times on patrol. 

It also didn’t explain why her breasts were tender and aching. Her armor was lightweight enough that it wasn’t causing undue pressure, but the preternatural metal remained uncomfortable no matter what she tried. 

And her head was killing her. 

She’d refused to take patrol of regardless of her ailment, whatever it was. Her little brother could tell she wasn’t feeling well and had tried his best to get her to go home early even though Jazz refused. 

Her gut instincts were trying to warn her, to be hyper vigilant in her defense of the Ridge. There was something coming and Jazz did not want to be caught unprepared. 

However, it was during a semi-weekly girls night with Cass and Steph that Jazz’s life was sent careening off course into the wide blue yonder. 

The three women were hanging out in Jazz’s new apartment, a cozy place with three bedrooms that she shared with Jason and Danny, and we’re settling in to watch a movie that’d just been released on dvd (Eat Pray Love). Steph had spared Jazz a confused look at her odd mixture of popcorn and ice cream, but didn’t say anything. 

They’d barely started the movie, the warnings of anti-piracy ignored (gothamites) when Steph exclaimed, “oh!” 

Cass was quick to pause the movie while Jazz choked on a mouthful of sweet and salty goodness. 

(Sweet Cass merely patted her on the back.) 

“You’re pregnant aren’t you?” 

(Jazz had just gotten her airway cleared too.) 

Naturally, they had to wait for Jazz to recover from her choking fit and inhale almost an entire bottle of water before she was deemed fit enough to answer Stephanie’s question. 

“No, I’m not pregnant!” Jazz retorted, though the thought of-

baby?

 -Kept ping-ponging around in her head like a cracked jar of marbles. 

She couldn’t be pregnant.

“You and Jason have slept together right?” Steph questioned, a particular gleam in her eye that Cass copied almost immediately. 

“Baby?” The ballerina added in her blunt way of speaking. There was almost a palpable sense of excitement in the air now. 

And yes, Jazz and Jason did have sex, almost nightly if she was honest… but she couldn’t have children thanks to her ecto-contamination. 

(That day had been one of the most heartbreaking times of her life, being told she had no chance of being a mother.) 

(She had dreamed of a little boy and girl to raise, to love indefinitely.) 

(She had told Jason and could see he was a bit heartbroken too.) 

(Nonetheless, they had talked about adoption and fostering.) 

(Already planning the life they wanted together.) 

Jazz didn’t realize she was crying until Cass launched into her arms for a hug, spilling popcorn everywhere.

A/N: Here's the beginning of what I'm calling the "Angst arc". Its actually a pretty long chapter I had to split up. This will be combined with either parts 19 & 20 or 22 when its later posted. content warning because I know infertility can be triggering to people. Its part of the story for a reason, I promise.

The regent masterlist is updated with new parts and the unoffical playlist for the regent series.

Thanks for reading!

PS: Yes, black mask has no idea what he's in for.

PS 2: did you know Eat Pray Love came out August 13th, 2010? 2010 is when the social media AU is set for regent. Thought it would be cool to include a movie that would have just released around that time.

[lou-struck]

Are You Watching?

Katsuki Bakugou x reader

~ Bakugou has never seen your favorite movie before, and so you end up watching him more than the movie.

Genre: Fluff

a/n: I do this alot, I just get so excited when I’m watching one of my favorite movies with someone I want to know that they are liking it.

As you walk through your front door and kick off your shoes that just don't quite fit right, you are hit with an overwhelming sense of victory.

Today was a bitch, but you made it through unscathed.

That in itself calls for a celebration of self-care. With Katsuki still out on patrol for a bit, you decide to slip into something cozy, get yourself a big bowl of microwavable popcorn, and take out your stack of DVDs.

But these aren't just any DVDs; these are your favorite comfort movies, the kind you can watch anytime and never get bored. You know every line by heart, quoting the lines under your breath and laughing in anticipation of your favorite scenes.

You've only been watching for twenty minutes or so, but your mood has already been raised up out of the gutters of exhaustion and disappeared when you first came home.

"Oi, what are you watching?" a familiar guff voice calls from behind you, sending elated prickles over your skin as your turn around.

Katsuki Bakugou, your boyfriend leans up against the doorway, he looks so natural, but you have a feeling he posed himself that way to look cool in front of you. You pause the movie and turn your full attention to your handsome partner, who looks just as exhausted as you did earlier.

"Suki, I didn't hear you come in." you smile, scooting over on the couch. "Get changed and come watch these with me."

"Haven't you seen this one before?" he yells from down the hall, already changing into his comfy clothes. He loves watching movies with you; it makes him feel normal after a long day dealing with the worst society has to offer.

"Yeah, so? It's one of my favorites," you call back defensively. "What's the big deal?"

"I just don't get how you can watch the same damn movie so many times," he grumbles, coming back into the living room wearing a black shirt and some flannel pajama bottoms you got him for Christmas last year. He is already looking more relaxed than he did before. Off in the distance, you can barely make out the sound of the washing machine buzzing to life, cleaning the rest of the day out of his hero costume.

"But you haven't seen it yet." you giggle, flipping up the mountain of blankets dramatically so he can get under them with you, patting the now open spot with your other hand.

He chuckles amusedly and joins you on the couch. His warmth comforts you in a different way than the blankets have as you breathe in his familiar scent. "This is much better," you sigh as his arm wraps around you. You place your head on his chest, your favorite kind of pillow.

"Bad day?" he asks, gently rubbing circles onto your skin.

"Not the best," you admit, shuddering at the memories from earlier today. You'd tell him all the annoying details later, but now, unwinding is the priority. "You?"

"It was pretty shitty, but I've had worse," he responds flatly. You believe him; the news coverage today told you all you needed to know about his bad day. 

"Then I guess we can just stay here until it all goes away," you chuckle, reaching for the remote and pressing play. Bakugou wouldn't admit it out loud, but the idea of just staying here on the couch, cozy with you in his arms, is the perfect ending to any day, no matter how shitty it was. 

Your conversation dies down as you both watch the movie. It really is the kind that you can watch over and over again. 

You think to yourself that it's strange that even after watching this movie in your living room so many times, Katsuki has never seen it for himself.

Wait, if he hasn't seen it before, that means he doesn't know about The Twist. 

You find your eyes drifting from the screen over to his handsome face. His crimson gaze remains transfixed on the screen in front of him. There is something so satisfying about watching someone watch your favorite movie so intently. Even if it's one he would not choose to watch himself.

You know what's going to happen, so you don't need to be watching as close. Katsuki is much more interesting right now. How will he react? Some of your friends said that the Twist was predictable, but others said they had no idea it was coming. The anticipation of it all makes you look at him even more intensely. 

Sensing your gaze on him, he turns his head towards you. "What are you looking at?" he huffs, "Do I have somethin on my face?"

"No," you say, looking away quickly, "It's nothing; keep watching."

He shrugs it off and returns his attention to the screen. You try and focus on the movie, but you can't help it; you have to see what he thinks about the Twist. You have to see his face. You shamelessly bring your gaze back over to him, only to find that he is not looking at the screen at all. His eyes are on you.

"Suki, you're not watching; this is important," you whine dramatically as if you are not the whole reason he is distracted in the first place.

He tsks, "How am I supposed to watch the damn movie if you're staring at me like that?" his voice rising in volume. 

"Just pay attention," you pout, crossing your arms over your chest., "I just wanted to see what you thought about the next part. It's my favorite."

His gaze softens as he tries to untangle your crossed arms. "Such a weirdo," he chuckles, leaning over and giving your cheek a quick kiss. "I'm watchin, I Promise."

Despite the dry air outside, his lips are still soft and smooth against your skin. You uncross your arms and return to your previous position on top of him. "You gotta watch," you mumble, trying to discreetly look at him and the screen at the same time.

And then it happens—the Twist. 

The main character being betrayed by their own best friend. You've seen this part so many times you could quote it word for word. But Katsuki…

"Where the Hell did that come from," he yells, sitting up quickly, ruining your comfortable resting spot against him. His mouth is agape, and his eyes are wide as he stares back at you, hoping for some sort of explanation. His features then go from shock to loving irritation as he ruffles your hair on top of your head. "You were waiting for me to watch this, weren't you?" 

"I knew you'd be surprised," you grin cheekily. Trying to bat away his hand from your head. "There were a few hints earlier on that make more sense."

"What hints?" he asks, narrowing his eyes and biting the inside of his cheeks as he tries to recall any sort of detail that would lead to the reveal of this betrayal. Obviously, he is still very troubled by the turn of events. "I didn't see any damn hints. Gimme the remote; we are watching this thing again."

[according2thelore]

it always bothered me that in the show, when dean learns that sam kept the amulet at the end of s11, he didn’t immediately put it back on—esp since from what i heard, that was an actor preference, not a storytelling one!!! (the samulet chipped his teeth ☹️)

anyway i wanna imagine that in your time travel au it doesn’t happen like that 🥹 it takes es dean five days to notice that his older self isn’t wearing it (in his defense, he’s not used to looking at himself from the outside!), and when he does it makes him so mad. and that’s what drives ls dean to - out loud - say that yeah, he wishes like hell he had it, but he doesn’t, okay? what do you want me to do here, kid??….. cue older sam like uh well i mean hmm. do you mean that.

although now i’m thinking of es SAM being the one to notice, and he notices right away, but he doesn’t use at as a barb until all the little upsets boil over. oh man. that kills me too. poor kiddo. you don’t get to go to law school AND your loml brother threw away his wedding ring amulet.

anyway you don’t have to do anything with any of this!! just thank you for letting me play in your sandbox!!!!

hello!!!

YESYESYES!!!!

this ask made me start BARKING. let's discuss!

for those who didn't know--yes, the samulet leaving the show was a choice made by jensen because it split his lips a lot and eventually cracked his tooth. i can understand his choice to have it taken off of the character (as much as i simultaneously hate it) especially since it seems that it was chosen as a prop during preproduction of the show at random. they lost a lot of jewelry from S2-4 (i'm looking at you skull bracelet, ring, and jelly bracelet), but the amulet got an emotional backstory so it had a longer life on the show.

but as for ES/LS verse YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!

ES!Dean is so distracted by how fucking huge these guys are (LS!Sam cough cough bouncy tits cough), and how discombobulating everything suddenly is (1 lb laptops? cellphones that are a flat screen? TVs thinner than a DVD player? IPADS???) to notice immediately. and you're so right! he's used to the amulet being a mostly physical thing--a weight around his neck so familiar that he hardly notices it until it moves--so not seeing it visually doesn't register.

but when he does, he's mostly confused at first. where is it? do we not wear it every day now? why not? we didn't fucking lose it, did we? did it get destroyed? i would know immediately if it fell off, so it didn't do that. hell, i don't even take it off in the shower, where the fuck is it? seriously, dude, look at me, what the fuck did you do to it?

LS!Sam gets more and more uncomfortable, because he's probably the only one at the table that knows it's not buried deep in a landfill in some random state. but he's not sure how dean will react to the fact that sam's kept it all these years, that he got on his hands and knees in a motel room and dug it out of the trash, wiped cold, damp coffee grounds off the pendant, and put it in his pocket with fingers that shook.

then, as you wrote so in character it made my teeth hurt (!!!!), LS!Dean snaps. i don't fucking have it. i threw it away, and i wish like hell i didn't, but it's gone. what do you want me to do here, kid?

and AHHHH!!! you are so right!!! LS!Sam goes fucking rigid like uhhhhhhhhhh...on a scale of 1 to 10 how much did you mean that be so serious rn 🥺 like hmm. well. hmm. let's say for argument's sake...🥺 👉 👈 ...

ES!Sam notices IMMEDIATELY that LS!Dean isn't wearing it, and it's one of the main reasons he's positive the LS!Boys are some kind of demon/shifter/ghoul/trick. because if this was actually dean, he'd have the amulet.

LS!Dean notices ES!Sam glaring daggers at his sternum, the spot where it used to be, as LS!Sam does all the usual tests and tries to calmly explain what's going on. he feels even more guilty as hell, whether or not he knows LS!Sam still has it yet. he crosses his arms over his chest and stares back, not quite able to muster the heat of a proper glare.

it breaks his fucking heart a little, because yeah, it is a betrayal, isn't it? even if his body is copy-able, or mutable, or not able to be trusted, sam should be able to trust a landmark that dean disposed.

but when ES!Sam finds out what exactly happened to the amulet?? oh lord. complete and total meltdown to be frank. "you don’t get to go to law school AND your loml brother threw away his wedding ring amulet." KNOCKED ME OUTTTTTT

because literally!! not only does sam not get a normal life or a nice job or an apartment that's not a windowless bomb shelter but he and his brotherwife got DIVORCED????? he's all but shaking LS!Sam back and forth like WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU???? HOW DID YOU FUCK IT UP THIS BAD??

no one tell ES!Sam that he and dean found out they were soulmates and dean threw his wedding ring necklace out on the same day. he will knock a hole into the bunker wall just so he can jump out of it.

on a more serious note, it is very much "not only are we still on dad's insane revenge mission," *points furiously at LS!Dean* "we're apparently not even a goddamn team anymore!" his voice cracks "can we even stand each other? are we still brothers?"

your characterizations for them were so spot on!!!!! canon to me!!!! this ask is a beautiful painting--babygirl (gender neutral) this is OUR sandbox!

thank you for this lovely & insightful & incredibly written ask anon!

-lizzy

[a-crochet-spider]

More Matthew headcanons cuz I've been rotating him in my brain for the past week

Sorry this is formatted weird :(

·         He either dresses in suits or like a homeless teenager. Again, no in between.

·        Uses very dramatic, theatrical pet names with his s/os like “my love/dearest/darling”. Life is a musical for and hot damn if he isn’t going to act like it.

·        Ramona fucking hated this when they were dating for a week.

·        His first musical was Rocky Horror Picture Show, which explains a lot about him.

·        He saw it at like ten years old when he found a copy on DVD in his garage or something and watched it when his parents were asleep.

·        He wakes up early on most days but only because he forces himself. He’s not really that much of a morning person.

·        He used to paint his nails in middle school, but doesn’t do it often as an adult because he was probably bullied for it.

·        He started fights online about musicals and refuses to change his opinion even if he’s wrong.

·        I’ve heard a theory that he’s in the military because of the symbol on his jacket sleeve, and he tells everyone that he was, but in reality he just thrifted the jacket and wants people to think he’s cool.

·        He learned self defense after high school because he got bullied a ton, and he’s really good at it clearly.

·        He pretends to like black coffee around other people, but when he’s alone he puts a bunch of cream and sugar and spices in it.

·        He eats up those stupid wolf edits that you see on YouTube reels or whatever (you know the ones I’m talking about).

·        When he’s stressed out he just needs to sit in a dark room by himself and not interact with anyone for a few hours.

·        He has a scar on his upper arm that he’s really vague and mysterious about, but he got it because he tripped and gashed his arm on the corner of a counter.

·        On that note, he’s a walking human disaster yall. He’s agile when fighting and stuff, but every other time he’s constantly getting hurt.

·        No idea how to hold a baby and probably never will learn. He always ends up holding it wrong and the parent always has to grab the baby from him before he hurts it.

·        If anyone calls him Mattie they’re getting decked.

·        He isn’t an outdoorsy person at all. He doesn’t like hiking or dirt or anything of the sort.

·        He only takes naps when he wants to treat himself.

·        He’s pretty claustrophobic and definitely doesn’t like tight spaces. If he has to go in one, he'll end up volunteering someone else to go for him.

·        Doesn’t know what the word passive aggressive means, he just yells at people.

·        He does have a few piercings that he got in high school, including in his ears and septum. He doesn’t really wear any obvious jewelry on them anymore though.

·        He dresses as the Phantom of the opera for Halloween every single year without fail and has since he was thirteen years old.

[astrowaffles]

Pride Month

Gojo peered out of the window. “Your neighbour’s got a pride flag out,” he observed. “You’ll fit right in here.”

“Well, it’s pride month,” said Megumi.

“I like to call it Megumi Month!”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

“What?”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

Confused, Gojo held out his phone. Had he changed his password? He couldn’t remember. If he hadn’t, that meant Megumi could still unlock it.

Uh-oh.

Megumi didn’t unlock it, he just turned it on and spun the screen to face Gojo. “Look at it.”

“At…my lockscreen?”

“Your lockscreen, showing what?”

“Me….and Suguru?”

“Yes, you and the evil mastermind. And why is it you and the evil mastermind?”

“Because we were best f-“

“Boyfriends. You were boyfriends. Happy pride month.”

“He wasn’t an evil mastermind. He was pretty stupid, actually.”

“He’d have to be, to date you.”

“We weren’t dating!”

“Uh-huh. I believe you.”

-------

OR: megumi moves into his apartment ft. gojo being nostalgic, itadori being a ray of sunshine & nobara being lesbian

“MEGUMI!”

“WHAT!”

“WHERE DID YOU PUT ‘LEGALLY BLONDE’?!”

“Dear god,” Megumi muttered, beginning to rummage through the nearest cardboard box.

“I HEARD THAT!”

Megumi rolled his eyes and rummaged further. “He could just look for it himself,” he complained under his breath.

Gojo finally gave up on screeching through the wall and came in through the kitchen door. “I heard that too, you know.”

“And?”

“And it was very rude?”

“Didn’t ask, don’t care,” Megumi sniffed, finally fishing the movie from where he’d packed it. “Why do you want this?”

“Don’t ask silly questions and you won’t get silly answers,” Gojo sniffed back.

Megumi glared at him.

“Okay, okay, it’s to watch,” Gojo relented. Then he pouted. “You don’t even have a DVD player, do you?”

“No, because I’m not ninety years old,” Megumi told him. “Put it in the laptop if you want.”

“Oh, so you’re old enough to have a laptop with a DVD slot but not a DVD player?”

“The laptop’s old!”

Gojo pulled a face. “And you’ve still got it? I would’ve bought you one if you asked…”

“I like this one,” Megumi said defensively.

Gojo eyed it. “It’s because of the stickers, isn’t it.”

“They don’t come off! I don’t want to throw them away!”

“I knew it,” Gojo sighed, and turned it on. It made a slightly disturbing whirring noise as the fans immediately began frantically cooling the struggling machine, and the DVD slot didn’t come out until the second attempt. “I’ll buy you some new stickers, so let me get you a better laptop.”

“You’re the only person in the world who asks to be allowed to buy new stuff,” Megumi pointed out.

“You’re the only person in the world with his own apartment at eighteen,” Gojo countered.

“Apart from you.”

“No, I had a penthouse,” Gojo corrected. “Now keep unpacking and let me watch the magic of Reese Witherspoon.”

Megumi didn’t fight him; he’d expected way more stress, and way more tears, from Gojo today. While Gojo wasn’t often an openly emotional person, moving his ward/son/annoyance into a separate flat would usually be enough to tip him over the edge. Megumi had been prepared, ensuring the tissues were the first thing set up on the kitchen counter and the laptop was unboxed in case Gojo had needed to watch Titanic.

As it was, Gojo was probably self-medicating with Legally Blonde - either that or he was pretending to self-medicate with Legally Blonde in order to avoid helping with the unpacking. Megumi didn’t mind, since Gojo usually just got in the way and messed things up and left food all over the carpet anyway.

Gojo peered out of the window. “Your neighbour’s got a pride flag out,” he observed. “You’ll fit right in here.”

“Well, it’s pride month,” said Megumi.

“I like to call it Megumi Month!”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

“What?”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

Confused, Gojo held out his phone. Had he changed his password? He couldn’t remember. If he hadn’t, that meant Megumi could still unlock it.

Uh-oh.

Megumi didn’t unlock it, he just turned it on and spun the screen to face Gojo. “Look at it.”

“At…my lockscreen?”

“Your lockscreen, showing what?”

“Me….and Suguru?”

“Yes, you and the evil mastermind. And why is it you and the evil mastermind?”

“Because we were best f-“

“Boyfriends. You were boyfriends. Happy pride month.” Megumi threw the phone back to Gojo, who caught it, disgruntled.

“He wasn’t an evil mastermind. He was pretty stupid, actually.”

“He’d have to be, to date you.”

“We weren’t dating!”

“Uh-huh. I believe you.”

“We weren’t!”

“Like I said, I believe you.” Megumi went back to rooting through boxes. “Did you pack this one? It’s full of shit I don’t want.”

“Language,” Gojo chided absently, eyes fixed back on the laptop.

“I’m 18.”

“I’m nearly 30, so what.”

“So shut up.”

Gojo gasped, very loudly and very dramatically. “Megumi! After all I’ve done for you, working hard as a single parent with ten jobs-“

“You have two jobs and they’re practically the same job. Teach jujutsu, use jujutsu.”

“-And I did it by myself! No childcare-“

“What was Shoko? Or Nanami? Chopped liver?”

“-And two kids, one of whom couldn’t even read-“

“I could read!”

“-Who said I was talking about you?” Gojo said wickedly.

“Well it wasn’t Tsumiki, she can read better than you,” Megumi shrugged.

“After all I’ve done for you,” Gojo repeated, “The least you could do it have some manners.”

“I have manners!” Megumi protested.

Gojo stared at him. “Are you absolutely certain, dearest?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“A-ha! Avoiding the question!”

“Prioritising my answers,” Megumi corrected. “I still have manners.”

“Suuure you do, buddy,” Gojo nodded, and went back to his movie.

Overall, June was a sucky month to move house in. The temperatures were high and so was the humidity, making everyone hot and sticky by the time the boxes were all inside. Megumi’s furniture hadn’t been delivered yet, having only been bought a few weeks ago – Gojo had insisted on paying for it all, even though Megumi had finally gotten access to a lot of the money stored up in his accounts from various relatives, jobs, and – of course – Gojo himself. He’d have even more when he finally turned 20.

Flies buzzed around Megumi’s empty rooms, making both Megumi and Gojo swat irritably at the ones that tried to nestle into the spikes of their hair.

Gojo watched Megumi carefully extract a particularly fat one from the back of his neck. He’d grown over the last few years, tall and broad, looking more and more like Toji every day. Maybe in a few years, when Megumi finally settled into his body and stopped tripping over things and looking confused with his new long limbs and wide shoulders, he’d gain enough muscle to make him almost indistinguishable from his biological father. There’d been a few times recently where Megumi, with the quiet footsteps taught by Gojo himself, had caught Gojo off-guard and had almost had his head blown off. All he really needed was a lip scar.

Gojo shuddered at the thought.

“You okay?” Megumi asked, noticing Gojo’s slightly horrified expression.

“Just thinking,” Gojo assured him.

“I didn’t know you could think.”

“You learn something new every day with me!”

“I wish that was true,” Megumi sighed. “Then maybe you would’ve been a passable teacher.”

“Okay, rude-“

Gojo’s tirade was cut off by Megumi’s new doorbell, ringing clear through the heavy, warm air.

“Must be Itadori,” said Megumi – who, in true Megumi fashion, absolutely refused to call anyone by their first name.

“HEEEEEEY MEGUMII!” Yuji yelled as soon as the door opened. In true Yuji fashion, he’d jumped at the chance to sound a bit closer to his friends.

“Hi,” Megumi replied, reaching out a hand to take some of Yuji’s bags. “Need some help?”

“Sure, thanks!” Yuji handed some off, and then turned sideways in order to fit through the door with the rest of them. “I didn’t know what to bring so I just brought it all!”

“All of what?” asked Megumi, cautiously peering into one. “Is this pride bunting?”

“Sure is! I thought we could combine the housewarming with a pride party, since we can’t go out without being recognised…”

It was true. After reaching peak celebrity status in the jujutsu world, their fame had even spread to the ordinary people, who hailed them as super-cool special reinforcements or whatever the media had chosen to frame them as. In an area so thickly populated with sorcerers as this was, it was frankly incredibly irritating trying to leave the house for a big event like Pride.

“I love that idea,” Gojo announced, having paused Legally Blonde to welcome his student. “Does Nobara know?"

"It was actually her idea," Yuji admitted sheepishly.

"Of course it was,” Megumi sighed. “When’s she coming?”

The doorbell rang again.

“She’s already here, isn’t she?” Megumi put down Yuji’s bags and went back to the door. “Hi, Kugisaki.”

“Hi, Fushiguro,” said Nobara, who had agreed to call Yuji by his name but insisted she wouldn’t be familiar with Megumi unless she got the same energy back. She was very, very salty about it.

“HI NOBARA!” Yuji yelled.

“Inside voice~” Gojo sang, shutting off his laptop now everyone was here.

“Sorry!”

“Jeez, let me in then,” Nobara demanded, bustling past Megumi. She didn’t have any bags with her, but from the way she immediately set about rustling through Yuji’s, she’d probably just made Yuji bring hers.

Megumi closed the door before more insects found their way in. “I like how you asked me about this party before you brought the decorations.”

“Oh, shut up,” Nobara told him. “Actually, no. New order: shut up and put this flag on your wall.”

It was a custom-printed lesbian flag, complete with a cutout of Gojo’s face.

“Oh my god, this is the best thing ever,” Gojo enthused, taking it before Megumi could reach out. “I want it on the wall forever.”

“Let’s start with it on the wall, y’know, at all,” Nobara snarked.

“I’m not a lesbian,” Megumi pointed out. “Neither is Gojo.”

“Neither am I!” Yuji volunteered. “I like the colours though.”

“You are all honorary lesbians for today,” Nobara announced generously. “Here, take a pin.”

She passed a small box around. Megumi stared at the ‘WOMEN SCARE ME’ pin he’d pulled out. “I want to swap.”

“No can do. ‘Sides, that one’s perfect,” Nobara shrugged.

“I’m attracted to women!”

“Yes, but can you be normal around them? No. Put the pin on.”

Megumi sighed and stuck it to his jacket; Yuji enthusiastically did the same with his ‘PRO CHOICE / PRO FEMINISM / PRO CATS’.

“’Three raccoons in a trenchcoat’,” Gojo read off the badge he’d been passed. “I like it.”

Nobara climbed onto some of the stacked boxes in order to string her fairy lights across the room. “You can keep these,” she told Megumi. “You need some decoration in here.”

“I’ve only just moved in!” Megumi argued. “It’s not gonna be perfect!”

Yuji was seeing how many boxes he could stack before they started to lean. The answer was six; he stood on tiptoe to slide his Bluetooth speaker on top. In the end, Gojo – ever annoyingly tall – had to help him put it securely on the middle of the top box.

“Good to know I’m still of use,” Gojo sighed.

“You’re not,” said Megumi. “Retire already.”

“Just because you said that, I’m gonna work another forty years.”

“Fuck you.”

Gojo’s dramatic gasp signalled another monologue coming on, but he was cut off by Nobara falling off her boxes.

“Fuck!” she yelled. Gojo didn’t correct her.

-

-

-

“When I got my first apartment,” Gojo reminisced, ignoring Nobara’s clattering in the kitchen, “I didn’t know housewarming parties were a thing.”

Him, Megumi, and Yuji were sat in a triangle on the floor, waiting for whatever Nobara was creating. By the sounds of it, she was attempting to remake the oven.

“I thought you said you had a penthouse?” Megumi pointed out.

“What? Oh, yeah, when I was 18. I got an apartment when I was ten.”

Yuji gasped. “Cool!”

“No, not cool, Yuji,” Gojo told him. “It was very boring.”

“Is that even legal?” Megumi questioned. Gojo shrugged, which wasn’t very reassuring.

“Dunno. I liked it, though.”

“Did you have fairy lights?” asked Yuji.

“No.”

“What about a fruit bowl?” Nobara called from the kitchen.

“Does anyone even have a fruit bowl nowadays?” Gojo asked.

“Fushiguro does, apparently.”

Megumi turned to Gojo, horrified. “You bought me a fruit bowl?”

“Apparently…?”

“I can’t believe this.” Megumi looked ready to murder someone – and that someone was almost definitely Gojo.

“You never know what you’ll need,” Gojo tried to argue, shuffling away from Megumi as best he could.

Megumi made a rather threatening gesture and then rolled his eyes. Nobara reappeared holding a tray of cupcakes.

“Look, Megs! Blue, pink and yellow!” Gojo pointed out, probably hoping to get back into Megumi’s good books. “Just like the ones I made you!”

“You didn’t make these ones, did you?” Megumi asked suspiciously.

“No-one made them,” Nobara confirmed. “Well, someone did, but it was someone in a factory.”

“Can I have one?” Yuji asked, tentatively reaching for one.

“No, Yuji, I brought them out for us to look at them,” said Nobara sarcastically, lowering the tray so the three sat on the floor could reach them.

After Gojo had gotten sick of telling extremely uninteresting tales of his childhood and had told enough of Megumi’s that he ran the risk of having his mouth taped shut by his own ward, Yuji started a horrendous game of ‘Guess Who?’.  The category was ‘Jujutsu Sorcerers’, and soon devolved into hysterical impressions of various sorcerers they had met, including Nobara’s stellar impersonation of Nanami.

“I wear fake leopard print and I’m better than you,” she mimicked, voice forced deep and hands around her eyes to imitate goggles or glasses.

Yuji, arguably the closest person to Nanami, guessed Inumaki. Nobara nearly screamed with frustration.

“I think we should play something else,” Megumi suggested, watching Nobara attempt to attack Yuji without any weapons on hand. Yuji, whose main weapon was his hands, was frantically blocking and looking unduly terrified.

“Like what? Hangman?” Gojo pondered.

“Only if one of us actually gets hung,” Nobara offered, looking meaningfully at Yuji. “Inumaki,” she muttered scornfully under her breath.

“Maybe not,” Megumi backtracked.

“We need to do something gay,” Nobara sighed. “Otherwise what’s the point?”

“What percentage gay?” Megumi asked.

“Well if you’re doing it it’s 100% gay,” Nobara told him. “You can’t help it, you’re just built like that.”

“Says you, Miss Oh-No-Makki-Don’t-Do-That-Yourself, Let-Me-Lift-It-Even-Though-You-Have-Visible-Biceps-And-I’m-Built-Like-A-Mop-“

“Shut up!”

“Um?” Yuji interjected. “Maybe we could just watch a gay film or something?”

“I vote Luca!” said Megumi immediately.

“Awh, I wanted to vote one of the Haikyuu movies,” Yuji pouted.

“I wanted to vote this one,” Nobara said, waving the website for something niche - and probably unnecessarily emotional - around.

“I vote Legally Blonde,” said Gojo, like an idiot.

By the time they were all settled around Luca – which Megumi had literally fought tooth and nail with Nobara for – Yuji was dropping asleep and Gojo was tapping on his phone.

“Turn your typing sounds off,” Megumi told him.

“No,” said Gojo, but the sounds didn’t come again.

Yuji hummed and snuggled closer to Megumi. Nobara, on Yuji’s other side, looked extremely offended but didn’t say anything.

Gojo dropped his head onto Megumi’s shoulder. It wasn’t as much of a neck stretch as it used to be; Megumi had become an excellent pillow even if he wasn’t a good height for resting your elbow on anymore. Yuji started snoring in evident agreement.

“You guys suck,” said Nobara. “I can’t even reach Fushiguro to lie on him.” To compromise, she simply threw herself across both Yuji and Megumi’s laps until her head was in Gojo’s. “Much better,” she informed them, and closed her eyes.

“Is this gay enough for you?” Megumi asked.

“Fushiguro. You’re a man. I’m not being gay at all.”

“Damn. Try again next year?”

Gojo laughed. “You can try again when you get your own apartment, Nobara. Just make sure to invite me so I can take pictures of the cuddle pile.”

“Are you kidding? If you’re there, it’ll be impossible to get you out of the pile long enough to take a picture,” Megumi objected.

“Good point,” said Gojo. “Try again next year instead?”

“Yeah,” said Megumi. “Try again next year.”

“Next year it is,” Nobara agreed. Yuji just hummed and snuggled even closer.

A03 | Exclusives | Tip Me | Commissions

[drdemonprince]

how did you know that seeking institutional help was the right step to take?

For four years I was always in high levels of care. When I transitioned out of that, I was a "revolving door patient" to ip units living with a carer the rest of the time. I sometimes self-harmed or did other actions intentionally to get hospitalized during that time. I'm going to focus on mostly that because I don't want to get into the weeds of how different psych treatment programs are categorized and run.

I would say that my goal of being hospitalized usually was to change something in my outpatient life - let my therapist know I wasn't willing to do something, get my companions to let me go for walks alone, whatever. I'd get hospitalized or call the cops on myself or send scary texts to my therapist and then try to end my life, eventually being stopped. I didn't want to die, but if I could prove to them I was willing to, they'd listen.

Another person mentioned a desire for closeness+physical touch, and that was a huge part of it for me. i even got restrained sometimes just because I wanted any touch, which is something commonly heard from incarcerated people. I had certain nurses and other staff who I saw as my family, calling my therapist "dad" and interacting in a needy, childlike way with floor staff.

I also liked how much it pared down my life. I was in college at the time, and found the social habits of the other students confusing and overwhelming, so I'd get hospitalized to miss class.

what helped you trust the professionals or the institution enough for it to be beneficial to you?

i wouldn't say I trust any of the institutions, but some staff earned my trust. I was a scary mean noncompliant patient so the few who actually bothered to get to know me were usually moments away from some kind of burnout where they realized all this shit sucks.

One of the things they did that earned my trust was to share about their own mental health or addiction history. This is encouraged in sud places, but usually VERY discouraged in psych units, moreso the higher level of care it is.

Another big thing was to allow me to break rules or break them themselves. My ex-therapist used to meet with me for extra time, give me my DVD player when I wasn't allowed, etc. and it felt like he saw me as equal. Turns out he sucks. but. during the time he was treating me he definitely helped me a lot with my thinking patterns, so the trust still ended up benefiting me, even if the relationship didn't always. He also talked A LOT about his family and life outside of work, and showed me pictures, and I even met his dog once.

for me this is an example of why therapists are kind of. not great? because he earned my trust enough to help me, I was at his defense. I felt like not getting better was something I was "doing to him", and his displays of sadness (once something I'd considered a positive aspect of his self disclosure) became a way to manipulate me into the hospital when I didn't want to go, without having to resort to force or law. i agreed with the assertion of psychology that he knew me better than I know myself, and gave every part of my personality, personhood, to the medical model.

so yes it helped as in now when I'm suicidal or about to bpd-style destroy my every relationship I think "play the tape forward what happens next" and don't. which is lame bc it means most of the people who treated me get to leave patting themselves on the back about how well im doing now.

which kinds of institutions have been *less* traumatic than the others?

A few times I got to live in supportive group home style places, and those are kind of nice! It was cool to be in a place surrounded by other mentally ill people. Much less lonely. In general, places that let you outside independently, let you access food independently (e.g. no staff in the kitchen), and let you keep some secrets from staff are the best. My quality of life was 100% better when all the program heads knew we were vaping in our rooms but just let it happen unless someone started setting off alarms. Ditto with like, being able to stay up late on Devices.

Having that independence, a place for my sense of self other than being a patient, was sooo sooo helpful.

is it sometimes worth simply not being able to act on the ideation, even if it means putting up with lots of institutional bullshit?

I didn't find the hospital particularly good at getting me to not act, instead they just prevented the worst consequences. All three hundred stitches I got for self-harm were while I was institutionalized. But like, my nerve damage is less than it could've been. I am not sure how to evaluate if that's better than having just died, because I have no idea how much the institution itself caused self-harm and suicidality.

all things being equal, would it always be better to be able to stay at a friend's house instead?

yes

if you could get 24-7 company from a loved one, would that be better?

yes. however. i think it would be good if people had some information about how to talk to suicidal people. like... i forget the training. but its similar to what they teach helpline volunteers. thats its ok to say suicide. to ask if they have a plan. to ask if theyd be willing to get rid of the means. etc.

SORRY IF THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ

this is a wealth of information, thank you!

[itgetsdarksometimes35]

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Warnings: Murder, Death, Non-con

Word count: 2,423

Pairings: Undead Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Reader tries to move on from her dark past.

~ indicates time change

- indicates a POV change

A/N: I have absolutely no idea when I wrote this but I know it was for a challenge long closed out. I'm writing an Andy Barber, Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, and Ransom Drysdale series and then I think I'll start dabbling in Konig and Ghost from COD so stay tuned.

Killing someone isn’t that hard. It’s the build up that’s hard. Buying the gun, planning the murder perfectly, coming up with a story. That’s the hard part. But, pulling the trigger on the fuckers who have been torturing you for years? No, that’s the best part. Two shots and the stress and pain that plagued your life is now gone. Both of them, bleeding out on the carpet.

Your story was simple, you were acting in self defense. The call to the police 5 minutes prior secured you a good motive, along with the many bruises that decorated your body.

Their funeral was short. Not many in attendance, just you and the officer that responded to the call, officer Sam Wilson. He was your comfort. After everything he offered to drive you to work, help you move into a new place, and asked if you’d like to accompany him on a coffee date.

He was perfect. The complete contrast to the two men who you’d called your lovers in the past. Two years later and you and Sam had tied the knot. A year later and you had welcomed home a little girl named Valentina Anne Wilson. Two years after that another girl named Salem Margot Wilson, then one year after that a boy named Samuel Tennessee Wilson. Your life was perfect, and 10 years later you couldn’t even remember Steve or Bucky.

~

“Bye daddy!” You and your kids waved bye to your husband as he went off to work. He’d started working night shifts on the weekends to help out more at the station. That was your husband, the ever helping man. Those were one of the reasons you loved him

You kissed him goodbye as he promised to see you guys in the morning. You watched him drive away into the Saturday night as you shut the door before locking it. 

“Alright, kiddos, what are we going to do tonight?” Saturdays were movie nights after having game nights on Fridays. 

“Scary movie!” Valentina ran to the back then came back down the hallway, holding a DVD pack.

“Night of the Living Dead?” It was an old movie, probably in Sam’s old collection, but you were still nervous your kids were too young. “I don’t know, V, Sammy is still only 7.”

“In a half.”

“In a half,” you correct yourself. 

“Pleaseee, we can all handle it!” Salem looked at you with puppy dog eyes that she got from her father. They always broke you. 

“Oh alright, but only if you guys promise to close your eyes when I say and tell me when you get scared.”

“We promise!” You smiled at your kids. They definitely got their horror movie love from their father, you’d much rather curl up with a good romcom. Ice cream, tears, and girls walking away from hot guys because they were too good for their six packs was a cocktail for a good night if anyone asked you. 

Your kids grabbed blankets, pillows, and snacks as they gathered around the TV. You popped some popcorn for yourself before curling up in a blanket burrito on the sofa before starting the movie.

~

You wake up to find yourself still on the living room couch. The screen was blank illuminated with the home screen of the movie begging you to hit “play.” 

Your kids are huddled together asleep, and you decide to leave them. Waking them up to put them to bed rarely worked in your favor. Once they were up, they were up.  

You stretch your limbs as you stand up, making your way to the bedroom you shared with your husband. You slip into bed before shutting your eyes, trying to return back to sleep. 

Your relaxation didn’t last long, for you heard a sound outside. You opened your eyes and checked the clock near your bed. The numbers screamed 3:00am in red at you. The sound couldn’t be Sam, he didn’t get home until 7am.

You were about to lay back down, concluding the noise was your imagination, until you heard it again. It sounded like dragging on pavement. You got up and went to your window, looking out onto your driveway. You saw nothing, your street was empty save for the street lights that illuminated the surrounding areas. Damn raccoons. 

You once again climbed back into bed and decided to ignore any more noise, the animals that surrounded your neighborhood got into the garbage all the time at night with no plans of stopping. 

You continued to turn in bed several times, not able to get comfortable. You felt watched. You knew it was impossible, nobody was outside your window and nobody was in your room. You just could shake the paranoid feeling.

Then, you heard it. Breathing in the corner of your room. You keep your eyes closed, trying to slow down your breathing and heart so you still look asleep. You prayed the intruder would come closer to you rather than walk outside to your children. 

You felt their movement as they inched closer and closer to you, you prepared to kick or punch as hard as you could before running to get the gun hidden in the closet. The gun you had used 10 years prior.

You felt a hand wrap around your ankle and your eyes flung open. You kicked with your other leg, hearing a loud grunt as your foot came into impact with something. You drew your ankle from the hand as you rolled from the bed to the floor, crawling up as you made your way to the closet. 

When you got there however, you saw a figure standing there. You heard them cock the gun and you put your hands up in surrender. “Please, you can take whatever you want. Just please don’t hurt my kids.”

The figure didn’t move, and you couldn’t see them in the dark. You start backing up slowly, but stop when you hear more breathing behind you. There were two of them. Shit. You turn slowly and gasp at what you see.

“Steve?” The man who stood behind you was no doubt your ex lover, the one you killed a decade ago. Only now, his face was pale and looked to be decaying. He smelled awful and his eye sockets and cheekbones looked sullen and black. What the fuck was happening?

Just then the man in front of you stepped into the light coming from the window. There you saw Bucky, the other lover you killed. He smelled like Steve and looked similar to him. His clothes looked dirtier than Steve’s, but they both looked like they crawled in the dirt before coming here. You could even see bugs in their hair and clothes. 

“B-Bucky? H-how?” You back away from both men, looking at the closed door of your bedroom. All you have to do is keep them from leaving the room. Hopefully Sam was sent home early. Hopefully.

“Hey, Doll,” Bucky said, never lowering the gun, “Miss us?”

“But, you’re both dead.”

“Cause you killed us?” Steve spoke up. You couldn’t say anything, just nodded. After murder, you’re not supposed to see their face again. This wasn’t high school, where you stole somebody’s boyfriend and you had to see them in the hallway later. Murder ends it all. It’s over after the gun is shot.

“Not anymore.” Bucky chuckled at your fearful eyes. Steve looked around your room. His eyes landed on the wedding photo on the wall, then he looked to your left hand where your rings lived. 

“So, you’re married.”

“What’s going on?” This made no sense. The dead don’t just get to walk again.

“And you have kids.” Bucky finishes. Your heart drops. 

“Don’t hurt them, please. They’re innocent in all this, I’m the one you want.”

“You’ve got that right!” Bucky raised his voice a bit, scaring you. 

“Okay, okay. Calm down, just tell me what you want” If your kids woke up, no doubt they’d come in. You couldn’t trust the men who hurt you for years to not give the same treatment to your kids.

“We want what we had 10 years ago.” You blinked your eyes as you looked at the two men before you.

“I thought it was crazy, trying to track you down after all this time. But, Bucky kept saying the same thing over and over. What was it Buck?”

Steve turned to face Bucky, and his friend smiled at him. “No grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her.” Steve nodded in remembrance, and your blood ran as cold as their dead skin looked. 

“Okay.” You swallow thickly. You didn’t know what they meant. “Are you going to kill me?”

“We should,” Steve said angrily, “After the pain you caused us.” Pain you caused them? They had to be joking. 

“Why’d you do it, Doll? Why’d you ruin our perfect family?” You turned to Bucky as sadness grew on his dead face. 

“You both hurt me. So much.” Your eyes started to get blurry as tears escaped your eyes. Suppressed memories flooded back to you, years of counseling down the drain as your nightmares came back to you in the worst way possible. You had to be dreaming. 

“We had to,” Steve reasoned, “You know that, Doll. You had to learn to be a good girl. We had gotten so far, we were almost there. Then you ruined it.” He took a step closer to you. “You’ve been a bad girl.”

Your eyes widened with fear as you shook your head. “No, you hurt me. You tricked me into your house and you subject me to torture for years. It still haunts me to this day, what you put me through. Don’t you realize that?”

Bucky and Steve both scoffed before Bucky spoke. “You’re still a brat.”

Your eyes stung as you started to feel frustrated. You had to take deep breaths to keep from saying something that could get you or your family killed right now.

“Okay. So what now, are you going to try to make your perfect family again? It’s impossible, you’re both dead.”

“That’s what you think, Doll.”

Steve reached for you, his hand was icy and clammy. His touch made your skin crawl as he pulled you closer to him. Your skin erupted in goosebumps as your bodies touched. Steve dipped his head into your hair and breathed in deeply making you stiffen up.

“God, you smell so much better than the shit we were in,” Steve laughs to himself. His hands travel south until they reach your ass. He squeezed down on the soft flesh that rested below your soft PJ shorts. You closed your eyes, praying that this doesn’t last long.

Bucky came up behind you and ripped your light tank top off, leaving you in just your panties and shorts. You bit your tongue to keep from screaming out and disturbing your kids. Next he grabbed your waistband before pulling the fabrics down your legs. Steve placed his cold hands on the warm flesh of your hips, making you even more cold than before. 

“Be good,” was all he said as you heard Bucky undress behind you. You kept your eyes closed as you felt a hard and cold object press into your lower back. Steve lifted your left leg and sat it on his right hip as he left a cold trail of kisses down your neck. You tried not to concentrate on the tiny movement of bugs crawling on his clothes that were pressed to your bare chest. 

Bucky’s cold member, feeling just as big as you remember, pushed into you slowly. You heard him growling behind you, obviously satiated by the warmth your walls provided him.

You whimpered quietly as he moved within you, pulling at your walls the way Sam never could. You loved your husband, but even after 10 years your body held an ache that couldn’t be cured with Sam, no matter how many positions he put you in. 

“You feel so good,” Bucky moaned, pulling your hair a bit, “10. Fucking. Years. Does your husband fuck you right like we did?” Your nails dug into the dirty clothes that covered Steve’s body. “God, how have you stayed so tight after kids?” Bucky started to pick up speed, your cunt leaking all around him after finally being sexually fulfilled. 

Bucky started showing signs of his impending orgasm. “Bucky, not inside. Please.”

Bucky grunted at your begging, he always had a thing for that. “Why not? Not ready for another child?” 

Sam had gotten fixed. You stopped taking birth control because of it, and even though you were older, you still had a high chance. I mean look at your mother, she gave birth 13 years ago.

Despite your pleas, Bucky stilled his thrusts inside you, filling you with his seed. You hoped to God that his swimmers died when you shot him, but you doubted you’d be so lucky.

Bucky pulled out of you as Steve started to release his cock from his pants. He wasted no time sinking into, using Bucky cum and your slick as lube. Steve thrusted in and out of you at a more gentle pace, but his thrusts were precise. The material of his clothes rubbed against your clit and sensitive nipples, and you were soon clenching around Steve.

He gave a long moan of your name, also cumming deep inside you. He continued thrusting to work you both through your highs. “Damn, Baby. After all those years, I really needed that.” Steve smiled at you as he disconnected from your body

You fell to your floor as your thoughts started to make sense. The two men you killed are back to life like this was some kind of fucked up zombie movie, and they fucked you senseless in you and your husband’s shared room. And you actually enjoyed it. Your eyes were still closed, you refused to open them. Seeing it would all make this too real.

“Until next time, Darling.”

When you opened your eyes you were alone. Your shredded clothes still lay on your floor, and you picked them up to throw away on your way to the shower. You needed a bath.

The whole reason you killed them was because you wanted to escape. Now you're right back to square one with them, only now you had everything to lose. Dead men tell no tales, but they know how to act one out.

[kingwuko]

do you think mako ever belittles himself when sees wu's educational upbringing? (not that it is accurate but he loves to belittle himself sometimes)

Oh my god what a sad thing to think about.

One of my Mako headcanons that I'm pretty attached to is that he is hyperlexic. I think he was easily reading from a very young age, but I think it might have been a struggle for him to have access to books. The Fire Lord Zuko Library (referenced in Avatar Legends TTRPG) serves as a community center with free workshops and classes for everyone, but how often could he have realistically gone there? We also have very little information about elementary/primary schools in the United Nations, and I'm not sure if there's compulsory education or if it's voluntary or a privilege of wealth or what... Either way, Mako and Boling might have had some form of education (whether a formal school or through these free classes at the library, or just from their parents) as young children, but then nothing after their parents were killed.

I think Mako would have been a model student, too, if he'd been given the chance. In the dvd commentary, they talk about how after he and Korra broke up, he started reading a lot more, borrowing books from Jinora, apparently.

I think maybe in season one when he became Asami's sugar baby and then in season two when he got his job at the police department, it was the first season of his life he earned enough of a salary that he didn't have to work every waking hour just to make enough to survive. He had free time, buuut he had a girlfriend soooo he probably wasn't prioritizing educating himself.

Once he was single, I think that's when he really tapped back into reading. We know Mako is so smart, and that he wants to learn, and he takes initiative to read and presumably pursue self education

And then... We get to him meeting Wu. Wu who probably had not only a good education, but an affluent one. It's very likely that as a child, he didn't even attend a school, but instead had private tutors. If he did attend a school, it was probably a highly exclusive private school in the upper ring. And then he studied abroad at Republic City University. He had every opportunity Mako didn't have.

I think Wu, as a teen and young man, was probably very oblivious to wealth inequality in general, and became uncomfortably aware of it through knowing Mako and his family. It genuinely might not have occurred to Wu that people couldn't simply get an education easily if they wanted. He probably took his education for granted, until he was shown otherwise.

As far as how Mako would feel about himself? You know I love a self-depreciating Mako. But I think he wouldn't necessarily be belittling himself over it. I think he is intellectually aware he would not have been able to receive a proper education in his circumstances no matter what he did. I think he appreciates his access to books now. And I definitely think he was annoyed by Wu taking his education for granted.

I think, rather than belittling himself or self depreciating, it might be something he's more embarrassed or defensive about in Wu's presence. Less of an internal "I'm such a loser for not being educated" and more of "It's embarrassing that I'm not educated and I don't want to draw attention to it".

I think when it clicks for Wu that Mako didn't get to go to school, he might want to encourage him to eventually do so. Mako could maybe take it the wrong way at first, but I think he and Wu understand each other enough for Mako to realize Wu just wants him to be happy and have opportunities, not that he's pitying him or patronizing him or something.

I think it would be very very cool if Mako enrolled in the university someday. There are so many non-cop careers Mako could be good at. I sort of like him studying law.

[latenight-panic]

Thanks for the tag, @dysfunctional-deity 🩷

Tagging @oingomyboingos @bigtiddygothhusband @disappointingsalad and whoever wants it

[fourteendaysinaweek]

Reminder to all creatives in the US during all this:

Save your works to an external hard drive.

Save all of them.

Make physical copies of them.

Even what you deem poor quality.

Save everything.

One of the things in project 2025 is the potential to ban any and all media/art deemed "immoral". That includes adult content. That can include anything that mentions queerness, non-whiteness, American history, everything. They can deem anything immoral. Fanfictions, art, music, movies. They already ban books, but with project 2025 the banned could be deemed illegal to sell.

Get back to burning/buying cds and dvds and buy physical books (or download to an external hard drive)

You don't know what is going to be banned.

Buy the books that are in danger of being banned. If worse comes to worse you can make copies and we can forge a community of bootlegs and pirates and go back to the roots of zines.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Also, uncooked poultry, beef, and pork will last a year in the freezer, and plan b has a shelf life of four years.

And this is going to sound counterintuitive, but if you are able, you should get a concealed carry license and CARRY. I want gun reform as much as the next person, but it is the only self defense item that they will not ban.

If you can't or are too uncomfortable with that (No judgment there) here is a list of things that are not self defense items and should never be used as such

Lysol/hairspray

Big chunky gaudy rings like the ones with huge crystals/glass or the solid metal ones with skulls

A roll of quarters in your fist

A cane/umbrella

Steel toed boots

A chain with a lock on one end/ a lanyard with something heavy on it.

Plan for the worst. Hope for the best.

[iheartpeppino]

Pizza My Heart AU Presents: The Spaghetti Family

Giuseppe "Peppino" Spaghetti I - The founder of Peppino's Pizza, he's Peppino and Maurice's father. A hard-working pizza chef who was very passionate about his Italian heritage and his craft, as well as passing on his knowledge to his children. He was known for having a kind personality. He died of heart failure when Peppino was almost 30 years old.

Donna Spaghetti - Peppino and Maurice's mama, a strikingly beautiful old lady in her 70's who's always down for excitement even at her age. Ever since her husband died, Donna has had a very active love life, going on dates with quite a number of men, some older than her, some younger. Peppino worries about his mama a lot, but Donna can more than handle herself, being an actual badass at fighting and self-defense. If you see old Donna Spaghetti taking off her earrings? RUN.

Giuseppe "Peppino" Spaghetti II - Our favorite anxious pizza chef, the current owner and operator of Peppino's Pizza. He was named after his father... or did he name himself after his father? Guess it depends on what version of the AU it is! Either way, Peppino turned out to be a lot like his dad, just with a lot more anxiety, PTSD and anger, and a worse economy to deal with. He also inherited his mother's fighting spirit.

Maurizio "Maurice" Spaghetti - Peppino's pessimistic, selfish, violent, and constantly angry twin brother who's been jealous of him since they were children. Because Peppino wanted to be just like their dad growing up, Maurice feels his father treated Peppino like the favorite child, so Maurice constantly bullies Peppino for his entire life. The worst thing he did was throw his Stargate DVD collection into a river. THE ENTIRE STARGATE COLLECTION ON DVD IS WORTH OVER $100 USD (yes, really!). FUCK YOU, MAURICE.

Alfredo "Freddy" Spaghetti - The third Spaghetti brother, known for wearing red, he's five years younger than Peppino and Maurice. A professional chef, he's employed at the fanciest Italian restaurant in town. Despite being very skilled, he can't make pizza to save his life, having extraordinarily bad luck with it. He envies Peppino for his natural pizza-making skills and the fact he owns his own business... even though Freddy makes way more money than Peppino does and has a better quality of life. Despite it all, Freddy does care about Peppino, and worries about him a lot, even if he thinks his friends are weirdos.

Gianna Spaghetti - The fourth and final Spaghetti sibling. A woman in her early 40's, Gianna is a punk who loves creepy and scary things and hates cute things. Apparently, anything cute makes her immediately want to smash it to pieces. She has no love for her older brothers since they were all too absorbed in their own lives to pay much attention to her growing up. She lives with Donna and helps take care of her. (Gianna is directly inspired by Giana from The Great Giana Sisters.)

Angela Spaghetti - Maurice's ex-wife, mother of Maurice Jr. Strongly resembles a young Bea Arthur, with mannerisms similar to Dorothy Zbornak from The Golden Girls. Angela kept her ex-husband's surname even after divorcing him because she still loves the rest of Maurice's family and encourages their son to maintain relationships with them. Angela regrets ever marrying Maurice and frequently refers to him as "a sorry bum with a gambling addiction whom I honestly pity". Her mother's name is Maria, who strongly resembles and acts like Sophia Petrillo from The Golden Girls.

Maurice Spaghetti Jr. - Maurice's ten-year-old son with Angela. Maurice Jr. is actually a very sweet and well-adjusted kid thanks in large part to his mom, but his dad is a deadbeat who doesn't spend time with him unless he's specifically asked to. Maurice tries to make up for his lack of parenting skills by buying expensive gifts for his son... or worse, passing off gifts from other people as if they were from him. Which includes gifts from Peppino. Maurice Jr. has no idea... he loves his dad, but he wishes he'd actually be a dad to him and not just an occasional gift-dispenser.

Nonna Spaghetti - Peppino and Maurice's very elderly grandmother on their father's side. Maurice has taken advantage of this poor lady multiple times by manipulating her into giving him money to spend on his gambling habit. Peppino knows about this, but feels powerless to do anything about it since he's afraid Maurice will retaliate against him. Nonna doesn't always remember what day it is... or even what year it is... but she loves her family members unconditionally and would do anything for them.

I wanted to wait to post this after drawing portraits of everyone, but I'm too impatient for that. I'll draw everyone when I actually have the energy to do so.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, September 22nd

Xander: “Hey, Red. What you got in the basket, little girl?” Buffy: “Weapons.” Xander: “Oh.” Buffy: “Just in case. Like the tux, Xander.” Xander: “Bond. James Bond. Insurance, you know, in case we get turned into our costumes again. I’m going for cool, secret agent guy.” Buffy: “I hate to break it to you, but you’ll probably end up cool head waiter guy.” Xander: “As long as I’m cool and wield some kind of power.”

~~Fear, Itself~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

The Rod Beneath by Ellen_Brand (Batman crossover, Buffy/Jason Todd, Buffy & Giles, G)

Reflections Of Tomorrow by LoneFrog (Xander, FR15)

Just the Way You Are by Zab Jade (Buffy/Spike, 13+)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Something Red - Chapter 1 by Little_Bites (Faith & Willow, not rated)

Truth and Consequences, Ch. 25 by JamesMFan (Buffy/Spike, R)

Hope is the thing with feathers, Ch. 12-13 by will_ (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Degradation of Duality [Series Part 2] Ch. 52 by Ragini (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Little Light, Ch. 9 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Linchpin, Ch. 5 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Troubling Deaf Heaven, Ch. 5 by JuneCurry (Buffy/Spike, R)

Unholy Matrimony, Ch. 1 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Dawn Rising, Ch. 75 by Luna (Buffy, Dawn, FR15, self harm)

Oh My Goddess, Ch. 4 by Maxine Eden (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Drawings by darthmimaulette (Buffy, Buffy/Spike, probably worksafe)

Manips: The Hungry Wolf by spyder-baby (Drusilla, Spike/Drusilla, worksafe)

A Buffy the Vampire Slayer button in progress by lunar-goodness (no people depicted, Buffy quote, worksafe)

Sims by mistyintherivers (Scoobies, Drusilla, worksafe)

drew some buffys! one from the tv show, and one from the medieval flashback in the 1992 movie by nodudeshutup (worksafe)

A Gachnar doll in progress by Nocturnal-Nycticebus (worksafe)

Welcome 2 the Hellmouth collage :) by DefDoomedPod (Buffy, Darla, Luke, the Master, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

Episode 5.4 - Hell Bound - crossposted by rock-and-compass

The dialogue in IWMTLY [I Was Made to Love You] by Stoney, HardlyThere

Buffy Season 1 is low key maybe my favorite season by AmbitiousOutside7498

SEDUCED BY A TEACHER? Up The Buff! Ep 4 - Teacher's Pet by bigbadllama

Buffy Season 3: Where will it go from here? by RedRxbin

Vampire F/X- film or tv? by CaseTarot

the way season 3 final episodes are epic is beyond by Kindly_Ad2280

[Fandom Discussions]

I had a dream that Angel was helping Buffy... by oveliagirlhaditright

If you couldn’t have the original cast - which cast would you choose [BtVS S1] by primal-slayer

Skeptical of how realistic it was for the characters to consider working for Wolfram&Hart by thequeenofsastiel

Was Spike a special or unique vampire? by garfan and others

Are any of you involved in Scholarship on Buffy? by friendofathena

Looking for DVD set that has "Once More With Feeling" NTSC 16:9 native NOT letterboxed by Maximum-Telephone268

Fancast: Once More With Feeling - dream cast in music theatre by Icy-Morning6813

Did you know that TV tropes exists because of Buffy The Vampire Slayer? by Cailly_Brard7

Spike VS Faith (who wins in a fight?) by FoxIndependent4310

Has anyone gone to the Buffy Popup in Chicago? by BalrogSlayer00

What campfire songs do you think they sang? by AndrewHeard

Quotes from the show to remember when you're in a dark period of your life? by incantopatronus

A defense of Xander by foreseethefuture

Has your opinion any character shifted as you’ve aged? by Tamika_Olivia

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters UltraCon 2024 Reports, Pics & Videos via dontkillspike

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Coming to Free Streaming (Tubi) Just in Time for Halloween

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[pronounmelon]

Meet the employees of GAP!! Part 1

GAP is an unapologetically in your face, colorful trans-friendly club founded by Ginger “Glitz” Saab, Kaiya “Akuna” Maymuru, and Cherish “Portia” Chadha after a heavily traumatic experience involving a women’s only club that the proudly trans girls faced. With a fully trans staff with all wonderfully different styles, GAP aims to bridge the GAP!!!

☠️ Ennui Samson, 23 years old, Anglo-Australian, Alternating He/They/It, Panromantic Transmasculine Demiboy

You see, one thing Rusty did get right was that transmasculine people can absolutely look how Samson does… I however did change their design quite drastically. Why did I do this?? It’s actually really simple. I noticed how many members of the QT collective have fully blue or green hair and I got mad because it limited my ability to make each one stand out 💔 sooo I took some creative liberties, and it just happened that their style gradually developed from that. Ennui can’t go wrong with a cute dress though!!

Speaking of, Ennui!! Ennui is a bouncer at GAP!! He also does nude painting work on the side, with many of their paintings celebrating trans bodies being hung up around the club. Born into the Mormon church of Adelaide, it was disfellowshipped and escaped at 16, and lived with his similarly disfellowshipped aunt for the next several years, and have only just recently moved into its own apartment!! Now, he thrives at 5 and a half months of HRT, living with their 2 pet parakeets, Shelley and Poe!! They are well trained in Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, with a brown belt status that often easily wards off potential enemies from the club without so much as lifting a finger.

🪐 Jupiter J. Galilee, 23 years old, Filipino-Australian, Any/All pronouns, Autigender transmasc, intersex, and unlabeled sexuality. Also arospec!!

Now for Jupe!! Despite the fuckass haircut, I did not have to redesign them as much as I thought I had to. Really, it was a matter of just not doing my guy dirty like Rusty did. I promise you a mullet with bangs can look really cute if you depict it in a way that flatters the face. And look at that fashion sense!! My guy is styling and profiling fr

Jupe is also a bouncer at GAP!! Raised in the rural outback of Australia, he went to every single year of highschool up to senior year with only 30 other students. As a result of this and her ASD, Jupe lacks social skills to a quite high degree, and does not consider themselves to be human. Their one retreat as a kid was watching Star Shifter DVDs on the family television; a TV show about alien heroes with the ability to shapeshift. He would take their understanding and expression of gender from her experience connecting with this show. They’d soon move to the city after turning 18 years old to pursue its passion for self defense, before quickly learning she had no idea what he was doing in the city. It is currently living with her roommates in a cheap apartment, and learning new and strange things about the rest of humanity every day. He helps pay their share of rent by taking her self defense passion to GAP!! He is now an ever charming, ever adorable, ever concerning favorite of GAP regulars.

[oneatlatime]

The Waterbending Master

Finally! Only took the whole season to find one.

This one apparently also has commentary. I'll leave it off for now.

After countless episodes without, we finally have another hybrid animal. Behold:

A koala Sea-otter? That makes noises like a Raven. Alright.

Sokka saying "I'm not one to complain" is a) pretty damning evidence of his amount of self-awareness b) self-deprecating sarcasm c) a funny line that I'm reading too deeply into

Why is Appa flying so low anyway?

Subtle signs that these guys are way too used to relying on bending: -no railings -no alternate propulsion source (seriously, not even an oar?) -no emergency supplies in case a trip runs long (I don't even see an emergency sandwich, and come on guys, it's not like waterbending controls the weather)

Random pinball bumper style ice stabbies does seem like a good defense though.

Not so subtle exposition dump from Zhao the asshole. Avatar writers are usually better at integrating catch-up dialogue. Looks like Aang will be arriving just in time to defend the Water tribe from the invasion that, ironically, he summoned. Talk about self-inflicted problems. Do you think if Aang had found a waterbending teacher somewhere else, the Fire Nation would have left the water tribe alone for another hundred years? Aang's been learning on the run; they could have picked up a single waterbender and hightailed it back to some cave in the earth kingdom to learn there. Or the water tribe could have sent a waterbender out to find the gaang as soon as rumours of the avatar reached them. See? This was avoidable.

Always love me some sea-bison.

They have bending doors like Omashu. Actually is this a door or a lock? I think the water level is changing.

Is this a hybrid animal? The yak thing, not the two legger.

Last time you got a hero's welcome, Suki's village burnt down. Foreshadowing?

How often does this lady see sea-bisons? She just passed by one and didn't even bat an eye. Is there a secret sea-bison colony that's spent the last 100 years hiding from the fire nation in the north pole?

Music Night! Need a better lyricist.

What's going on here? Did they roast a giant turtle thing and now they're cooling it to serve by dunking it in water? Did they feel the need for a steam effect for the guy's speech so they heated up a giant thingy and dunked it in water? Is it a weird boat thing? It looks like it has a face. I bet it's a ritual object.

Are these pot stacks the water tribe version of Totem Poles?

Oh nuh uh. Nope. 16 is way too young to marry.

This girl is so into him I can feel it through the screen, the dvd player, and the 15+ years since this aired.

Even the head guy's like "yeah, he's an asshole, What can you do?" Let's put this asshole and Zhao the asshole in a room together. They can out-asshole each other. Should be fun.

Remember back in episode three when I said that Zuko needed to learn how to lie? This is why.

Nevermind, we don't need to put Zhao and Paku in a room together to out-asshole each other. Paku wins. As far as I've seen, bending is not gender specific, either in who gets it or how it's taught/used. What kind of idiot would tell someone born with the ability to wield an incredible weapon that, actually, they aren't allowed to? How did this attitude get instilled in the first place? Why didn't the first guy who ever said this get slashed to death by ice stabbies thrown by the ten nearest female benders? Are these northern water tribe people so unbothered by the war that they can afford to sideline 50% of their forces? More than sideline, render incapable of defending themselves or others? Obviously this tribe is far too privileged if they can afford this attitude. And also far too bored. I guess hiding behind that giant ice wall for 100 years left them so understimulated that they turned on themselves.

Bad attitude? Fucking bad attitude!?! There's only one guy in this episode with a bad attitude and it isn't Katara. Zhao looks downright pleasant compared to this Paku guy.

Question for Paku: why would the Northern Water Tribe's rules apply to a Southern Water Tribe member?

My god these two are so cute. Sokka could propose they disembowel whale carcasses for their activity and the princess would say yes.

So the parrot lizard did survive the fall over the waterfall.

They're little tiny children. Katara, who has spent her whole life wanting to learn to bend to fight, has literally been shoved back into the igloo with a bunch of babies to learn lady-bending (no offence to the babies). How how HOW is she so calm right now? If I were in her situation, I think I'd be so angry I'd be ugly crying. And also plotting how to murder that Paku guy.

WHAT.

Paku the asshole is apparently a proponent of the tell don't show philosophy of teaching. The Tell-while-doing-unspeakable-things-to-my-lunch don't show philosophy.

Unexpected backstory. This lady must have been pretty close to Gran Gran if she recognises a carving she presumably wore for maybe a few months about 50 years ago or more. Also this lady is shockingly dumb if she can't see why Gran Gran left this misogynistic hellhole, but I guess it can be hard to see it while you're in it.

Nitpick time: How does the teacher recognise this? Isn't this just the water tribe symbol? Probably the most common symbol in the whole north pole?

Nosferatu Zuko. Nosferzuko. Zukoratu? Iroh's pause here was so long that I checked in case I had muted by accident. And how does your crew being taken by Zhao the asshole make your crew traitors Zuko? Orders are orders.

So we're adding asassinating royals to our list of reasons Zhao is an asshole. I think he's won the title back from Paku.

Fuck this port I guess.

Zuko's dead. Huh. Bye then. Gotta say I don't get why he's so big in the fandom.

This princess sure does send some mixed messages. At least she didn't ghost him.

"Master Poophead." My God. It's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?

Aang passing on what he learns to Katara. Why didn't I think of that either? My plan was to get Katara to launch unprovoked attacks on Paku's students and study how they defend themselves until she can copy / surpass them. Mostly so I could watch Katara beat the crap out of sexists.

Die mad about it you troglodyte. Disrespect? How nice it must be to have enough of your culture left that it can be disrespected. And you're going to deny the avatar training, thus dooming the whole world to death via fire nation, because you're butthurt? Freakin manbaby.

YES! YES! BEAT HIS ASS! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!

"I know. I don't care." + "I'm not doing it for you." = I'm officially in love with Katara. I took a while to warm up to her, I admit the first few episodes were a little rough, but this seals the deal.

This screenshot sparks joy. Last episode Aang bitchslapped a fire nation guy with air. This episode it's Katara's turn with water. The Firelord Uber-Bitchslapped Zuko with fire a few years ago. All I need is an earth bitchslap and my collection will be complete. Avatar: master of all four bitchslaps. Also this wouldn't have worked to goad Paku into fighting if he was half as mature as he thinks he is. Although he gets points for being harder to goad than Zhao in the Deserter.

In an episode where the A plot is Katara, the B plot is Aang, the C plot is Zuko, and the D plot is Sokka's love life, the writers still manage to fulfill the Beat up Sokka quota. Good job guys.

If only she'd aimed a couple of inches to the left. This show already includes a kid getting his face burned off. Surely a Poophead being separated from his nose is ok?

That's twice now she's lost her necklace. If the carving has lasted 50+ years, surely it's earned a metal chain rather than a hair ribbon?

Gran Gran! Bullet dodged! Excellent call!

That's a lot less beat up than I was expecting. And Iroh has never once given the impression that he isn't quietly ride or die for Zuko, so why would Zuko not expect Iroh to help him? Because Zuko isn't terribly perceptive? Because the writers needed a way to deliver yet more exposition?

I did notice that the healing lady specified that Gran gran was in an arranged marriage but Poophead was talking about love. Again, why was Gran Gran leaving a mystery?

Underrated moment of wisdom from Aang here. He gets why the princess is upset and he's twelve! But I'd bet good money that the idiot on the right has no clue what's going on.

Princess ran so far away that it's night time now. This episode is not subtle anywhere, so I figured that the princess being engaged was the cause of this whole blowing hot and cold thing. Despite being 16 and fictional, Sokka handles mixed signals and rejection with 10000% more maturity and kindness than many unfortunately non-fictional grown men I've met. Kudos to Sokka for being honest and respectful.

Even redeemed, Poophead is still an asshole.

Well that's a problem.

Fire Nation ships would be a lot more intimidating if they didn't look like shoes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot of exposition, a lot of set up, and even some catch up. And it was not done as gracefully as this show usually does it. More than once the dialogue between characters felt like two actors lecturing the audience rather than the characters we know.

This episode also had twice the concentration of assholes. A Zhao episode I can deal with. An episode with a one shot asshole where Zhao doesn't appear? I could also deal with. But TWO grade A assholes in ONE episode? No. Too much.

My whole-hearted congratulations to Gran Gran for seeing Poophead for what he was, and refusing to put up with it. Leaving his ass didn't make him get the message. 50+ years alone didn't make him get the message. The granddaughter that ought to have been his being so disgusted by his conduct that she attempts to cut his face off didn't make him get the message. There was no way that this idiot was going to change. So congrats to Gran Gran for making an excellent call, leaving his ass to freeze, and getting two most excellent grandchildren instead.

I also have to applaud Sokka and Katara for not being bitter about the Northern Water Tribe. I can't help but notice the spectacular architecture, complete with embellishments and unnecessary non-structural doodads. Let's do a quick comparison (ignore the ship):

Left has one waterbender. Right has all the waterbenders. We know that Northerners can travel south thanks to Gran Gran. The North couldn't have sent one sneaky waterbender to at least make the south a ship-proof wall? That chief guy has some audacity calling Katara and Sokka their brother and sister or whatever when they've evidently left the south to rot for a century. And I know the Fire Nation, the War, bla bla, but you guys are so bored behind your walls that you're cannibalising your own capabilities based on gender just for fun.

RANT INCOMING

Since I'm on the topic, can we talk about how STOOOPID it is to separate your combatants from your medics? Here's a secret about combat medics: they're both. They learn the basics of combat, and they learn the basics of emergency medicine (And a LOT of other stuff besides). Basic training includes basic first aid for EVERYONE.

Because here's the thing. People who get hurt beating the shit out of other people are usually hurt in an environment where beating the shit out of people occurs. If they are injured enough that they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then unless they can treat themselves on the spot or their fellow soldiers can administer first aid or get them out, they die.

Alternatively, if they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then medics have to be sent in. A medic who doesn't know how to fight who gets sent into the zone will - guess what? - get the shit beaten out of them. Now you're two men down at present, and who knows how many more you're going to lose over the next few days because you're down a medic. So unless every single waterbending fighter in the Northern water tribe is going to go into combat with a waterbending healer literally attached to them, there will be mountains of unnecessary losses and avoidable injuries.

Now let's look at this from the other angle. What happens if the enemy breaches your defences (because all your defenders are merrily bleeding out from wounds their bending could heal if only they'd learned how) and then makes their way to your combat hospitals? Which are full of soldiers who are too injured to fight and healers who don't know how to defend themselves? Apart from the whole living surrounded by their element thing, waterbenders' greatest advantage in a fight appears (to me) be to be their miraculous healing powers. Katara completely healed her burnt hands to the point where there wasn't even scar tissue and she had no training at all. A skill that can erase burns (the thing firebenders give you) negates the fire nation's greatest weapon - their fire. Any fire nation general who's not an idiot would therefore target waterbending healers, maybe even over waterbending fighters. So any fire nation commander would absolutely put 'capture field hospitals' as one of their top priorities. This is a kids' cartoon, so let's ignore historical precedent as to what happens to nurses caught in field hospitals behind enemy lines and say that the fire nation would defeat the waterbending healers.

Let's paint a quick picture here: in the background, a field full of waterbending fighters sidelined by treatable injury. In the middle ground, an inexorably advancing wall of firebenders. In the foreground, a field hospital full of defenseless waterbending healers. Just peachy isn't it?

How fucking UNSTOPPABLE would a bender able to shrug off a fireball to the face then turn around and take out a firebending platoon be? Get one hundred - no fifty - benders who can both heal and fight, have them advance in two rows: Front row fights, switches with back row when they're injured, gets healed up, rotates back up to front row as a replacement. Functionally unstoppable barring the need to eat and sleep (so long as they bring their own water). The Northern Water Tribe had decades to develop that. Unlike the south, they had the time, the resources, and apparently so little going on that they took up sexism to pass the time. The wasted opportunity here burns. See kids? Sexism hurts the sexists too.

This northern attitude is just dumb. It's illogical. It's stupid. I'd call it a ham-fisted unsubtle after school special of a plotline if it weren't a fictionalised version of something that's literally baked into to many cultures worldwide, past and present.

RANT CONCLUDED

What else can I say about this episode? Aang and Sokka had like three lines each, but they were very in character. Sokka and the princess are cute together. Zuko and Iroh had a good dynamic when they weren't acting in service to exposition. This whole episode really feels like part one of a two parter.

I think something might have been off with the narrative weighting of this episode. There was an honest to god assassination attempt and I forgot.

While the shot of Paku looking put out that the ice disk landed so close to his face was funny, I would have preferred it if Katara had gotten in one hit beyond her bitchslap. Just one. His ego needed the beating which it got via the necklace thing, but I would have liked to see actual beating too.

If I had seen this episode as a child I absolutely would have lost my mind over Katara getting to beat up a sexist. I'd bet good money that this episode did lots of good for the self-esteem of little girls who saw it.

Katara's plot line is like the plot of the Waterbending Scroll episode, but in a positive light. In that episode her selfishness regarding bending got them in trouble; in this one it helped. Seen in that light, the fact that it's the necklace rather than Katara's skill that gets through to Paku is a bit undermining, but if "magical girl has such impressive skills that the sexist dinosaur throws away decades of sexism for the chance to be her teacher" had been the plot instead, I'd probably be complaining about cliches instead.

All in all, a bit clunky, a lot of set up, and too many assholes and frustrating idiocy for it to go on my rewatch list. Feminist beat downs are good for the soul, but I'm not sure they outweigh Poopheads.

[troublesjunkyard]

6.) Do you own any TMNT merchandise?

11.) Which version of Raphael is your favorite?

20.) Which theme song is your favorite?

26.) What is one of your favorite pieces of TMNT fan art?

31.) What is one piece of TMNT canon that you dislike/ignore?

Hello Gornack! (*^▽^)/★*☆♪

6. I've got a few items but not much. I live somewhere where merchandise is rather.....sparse. Either you have to order and pay (mostly) a lot of export fee or you need to search at conventions for some.

I had a few shirts as a child from TMNT, now I have one and (my most priced possession so far) a metal poster with the IDW cover "City at war". If it's count, I got almost every issue of the IDW comics, the TLR2:Re-Evolution comics plus the TMNT Ghostbuster crossover comic and all seasons of TMNT '12 as DVDs. Got also some self made pins and four Kandi bracelets that are color coded to the turtles.

11. Uh, tough question because I'm a total Raph fan, no matter which iteration. (Maybe because I see myself in them...) I would say '03 Raph would be my top fav, because I just adore his kind side when he helps others in need and his sassy comments. And yes, most don't like his accent, but in my defense, I heard the english version years later for the first time. I heard him mostly in my native language as kid.

'12 Raph is close behind. He redeems himself and grows over the seasons without losing his character. Also communicating with pigeons and training them commands. Nice! Addition: I just love Raphs german voice and everytime his voice actor is in other movies or series I always see Raph. :>

I like IDW Raph because of his story arc. Especially in the beginning with finding his way into his family. He cares for them, but it's hard to fit in for him in the beginning after being on his own for quite a while.

I will hear people scream now, but I also like TLR Raph even though we only see him really short. Yes, he acts reckless and yes his plan was stupid but he cares! The fear that someone else gets severely hurt of his family blinded him so much that he takes measurements in his own hands. He gave everything he had left to protect. Hothead through and through.

20. A close fight between the '87 and '12 version. I would go with the '12 opening because this was my teenager era, this song was on my mp3 player.

26. Another hard one to choose ah-

In the moment it's the TLR2:Re-Evolution fanarts from redkehlchen and shellsweet. I love the four so much! (especially Yi hehehe)

31. The ending of Splinter in TMNT '12. DAMN. That ripped out my soul. I don't dislike it, but it's really hard to accept it...

And everytime I see this damn scene I'm like "Okay get it together... don't cry..." and then Mikey says this one word, THIS. ONE. WORD. And it's over....