#seniors obviously behave the best

[gynandromorph]

No amount of cuteness makes a puppy worth the puppy stage, get your ass a dog from a shelter that's at LEAST 2 years of age

[wittlesissyb4by]

"Watcha doing, little one? Why are you coming into my room? You know the only reason you're allowed in here is if you need your diaper changed. Are you wet?"

You propped yourself up from your hands and knees so that you could submit to Michelle's humiliating diaper check.

Michelle was your 'Big'. After several drunken disorderlies around campus, and a reputation for sleeping with (and fucking over) several girls at the dorm, you were quickly labeled as a 'problematic student'.

It happens to a lot of incoming Freshman and Sophomores. Their first few years at college, without supervision, some don't know how to handle the freedom and end up abusing it.

So, in an effort to alleviate the problem and keep the campus/dormitory looking good, a program was established to help students better transition into their adult life. These problematic students obviously weren't ready to be adults, and they must need 'parental' supervision because, without it, they apparently didn't know how to behave.

Seniors in good standing would be assigned a 'little' that needed correction. They would monitor, counsel, and sometimes punish their little to make sure they were making proper choices. But, call a spade a spade: they were basically your glorified babysitter.

The program quickly evolved, with each dorm finding more and more...successful methods of rehabilitating their peers.

The powers that be at the University simply looked the other way. After all, constantly expelling students made them look bad, they couldn't develop a reputation for constantly admitting delinquents, and hazing was something that happened all the time anyway. So, they decided to leave each dorm to their own devices.

Unfortunately for you, the device at your dorm was quite possibly the most humiliating of them all. They called it the 'Crinkle Correction'. They said it served as a way to 'start fresh', by starting you over in big, fat, crinkly diapers.

You had little choice in the matter. At only 20 years of age, the citations you received for drinking could get you expelled, or worse, put in jail. Girls around campus could file reports that you abused/assaulted them (even though you didn't), and it would ruin your reputation and any chances of landing a good job. Your only choice was to man up and take it.

"My goodness you are wet!" Michelle exclaimed. "Look how plump and puffy your pamper is!"

You flushed as you knelt in front of her, wearing nothing but your soggy diaper, feeling her grope and poke every square inch of the front in order to emphasize her point.

After she was certain that your cheeks couldn't get any redder, she placed the tip of her finger into your waistband, and gently pulled back.

"D'awww! Why is it crying?" she cooed as she peeked inside, referring to your caged cock. Michelle thought it was the perfect solution to keep you from fucking every girl on campus (as if the diapers wouldn't serve the exact same purpose), "you're leaking chastity tears!" she giggled, wiggling her hips in her sweatshirt with nothing but panties underneath. She knew it drove you crazy, she liked watching you clench your legs in an attempt to stem the flow to your crotch.

She circled you, watching you tremble. You wondered if other Bigs were as dominant as her, as demeaning, or did you get unlucky in that regard too?

"Did you go poo poo too?" she sneered in her sinister voice, circling you like a lioness around her prey.

"Y-yes ma'am..." you whimpered.

Frumpp!!

A swift kick to the back of your droopy diaper, her foot perfectly landing at the base of your balls. It wasn't her first time. You groaned and collapsed forward on your hands and knees.

"Tell me." She hissed into your ear. "Tell me what you did in your diaper."

"I went poo poo's in my pampers, Mommy!!" you whined into the floor, trying your best not to sob in front of her. She'd made you call her 'Mommy' since the first day she 'adopted' you.

"Awww!! Is that what that stench is?" She asked, as if she didn't know it as soon as you crawled in. She probably could have smelled you from down the hallway.

"Yes Mommy!!" you blubbered, losing your composure. "Sorry for stinking up your room!! B-baby needed to make a boom boom!"

It was pathetic. Pitiful. But you told yourself this was your only chance of staying in college and landing a solid career.

"Hmmm...well I'm sorry, little one, but you know I don't change dirties. You're gonna have to go find an RF for that..." But that didn't stop her from pressing her hand to your padded behind and mushing the mess into your backside while you cringed and whimpered.

RF's were 'ReFormed' students that had already made it through their semester of Crinkle Correction. Having to change dirty diapers served as a reminder of what they'd been through, and how easily they could go back if they ever decide to slip up again.

You obviously knew this. You'd had to make several crawls of shame through the hallways to one of the RF's rooms. But Michelle insisted that you come show her your filthy diapers first.

"Off you go," she said, taking the pacifier dangling from your neck and putting it back in your mouth. She smiled triumphantly, turning back to finally find some bottoms to put on.

Dismissed, you begrudgingly made your way out the door.

"Come back later, loser." she called after you. "I've got some girlfriends coming over. We'll play dress-up and turn you into a wittle baby gurl!"

As if. You thought. No way you would subject yourself to that level of humiliation! But she must have read your mind.

"If you do, and you're a good wittle pwincess, I might let you borrow my vibrator!"

God damnit. You thought. I'll be there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was an exclusive caption on my SubStar for the past 6 months. Go there to get more captions you won't see anywhere else, full access to all of my stories, and help a great cause (my electricity bill)!!

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Alexa, play Hey, Jealousy

This whole scene, Kang is obviously feeling jealous, because Pimfah is listing reasons why she likes Sailom. But! It easily reads as Kang struggling to confront the truth of what she's saying. Because he knows all these things about Sailom, he feels the same way about him, but he hasn't allowed himself to contextualize those feelings as "why I like Sailom".

That reality is why Kang is struggling to maintain his friendly interaction with Sailom after.

This is pretty straight forward jealousy.

Except that Kang got more upset when Sailom said that he pushed him to the cheerleading thing so that he could have a shot with Pimfah.

Kang thinks he's upset because Pim likes Sailom, but he's also upset because if Pim likes Sailom, then obviously Sailom will date her, she's great, but then Sailom will be dating her. And those feelings are very big and very confusing. Which we see here:

For Kang, Pim and Sailom dating was the logical conclusion. Sailom is a great guy, and Pim is the best, of course they'll get together.

When they don't, it's a threat to the narrative he's created, where he's jealous of Sailom, not because of Sailom. Where he can put everyone and all his feelings back into little boxes if his two friends just get together like they should. Where he can deal with the blow to his plan to give his dad what he wants, and marry someone who can give him kids, if everyone would just behave like they're supposed to.

This one is... this is the start of Kang figuring his shit out.

Guy literally rips Sailom away from Kang, and Kang can't even argue that Sailom is his friend, too, because he's very much not been a friend to him, and Sailom is actively keeping his distance.

Kang arrives with breakfast excited -- his body language is a little nervous, but almost giddy as he runs up the stairs with that cautiously optimistic smile. He's ready to mend fences and probably apologize, and reestablish their friendship (and ignore Sailom's confession, because Kang is Not there yet).

And there's his future best friend in law Guy, taking care of Sailom the way he wants to be, and he's hurt, but he's also angry that he's missed his chance. This is where he's fully aware of the cause of his jealousy.

THEN! THIS!

THIS BEAUTIFUL SCENE!

Kang's friends are sure he's upset about the seniors being shitty to him and not acknowledging his contribution to the game. They're offering reassurances that he's earned his spot, but Kang hears none of it, because all he can see is Sailom hugging and congratulating Guy, smiling and being happy with Guy.

And here's where it all solidifies.

Where "Sailom works so hard, and he makes me feel like I should work hard, too" and "she likes you (why does that make me so mad)" and "I like you" and "he's my friend" all coalesce, and Kang gets it.

He understands that what he's feeling is romantic interest. That he needs to fix what he broke right now.

Of course, he's still 17/18 and dumb, because what he opens with is this:

Which like, yeah baby, we know. But that's not the important information from that little revelation. And Sailom, bless his little angry gay heart, rightfully responds with "And? Who tf do you think you are?"

Kang is clearly struggling. Struggling with Sailom's anger, and with finding the right thing to say that will appease him and also be true-- the thing that will quiet the screaming in his heart, because big feelings are not his forte.

And then Sailom deflates a little, and says "Please, can you just tell me?" and asks tiredly if he's somehow made Kang feel guilty again (because why else would Kang be there, there's nothing between them, right? They're not friends, Kang just feels guilty about how he's treated Sailom, right) And then, Kang knows what to do.

(it's also Very Interesting to me that in an episode that told so much of its story in flashback montages, the one that we get right when they kiss is "I used to hate it, but I think I'm starting to like it", because despite everything, Kang has never hated Sailom. Dude has been obsessed from the start)

Anyway, this was going to be a funny post with just the pictures of our boy being jealous, and then figuring out why, but obviously I'm not normal about them and this happened. *shrug emoji*

[justmeinadaze]

Take It Out On Me Part 7 (Steddie X Plus Size Reader)

A/N: I am having a bad day and what I wouldn't get to have these two take care of me right now.

Warning: Dom Steddie/ Plus Size Sub reader and all that that implies! (I regret nothing!) , Jealous Steddie as well, Degrading, slapping, first time use of titles (we'll be seeing more of that from here on in), Billy being a dick to Steve. I think that's all. Smut, a dash of fluff, with a sprinkle of angst.

Word Count: 4055

This past summer was more than perfect. Spending two months in New York was the break you desperately needed from Hawkins and all the stress that came with it. You did miss Eddie and Steve but it was nice to be away from them for a while to clear your mind. You called them a couple of times but it was hard to be on the phone for long in house full of people. 

When you got back home, you were ready to start your senior year. You had bought a whole new wardrobe, wanting to show people like Tommy and Carol you weren’t the same meek, scared girl anymore. 

“Holy shit. Is that my sexy best friend?”, Masie grinned as she picked you up from your house on the first day. “You look so good.”

“Thank you.” You flashed her your silky, red tank top under Eddie’s leather jacket. The blue jean shorts showed off your legs and the cute black, velvet boots made you feel extremely powerful. 

“I missed you so much.” You smile as she leans over to give you hug. 

The school was full of electricity with student’s hugging each other and comparing class schedules. You couldn’t help but giggle when some of the boys did a double take as you walked by. 

“Hm. I guess you’re going to be popular this year.” She smiles as she links her arm into yours. “Eddie Munson definitely has some competition.”

“Oh my god, Maze. Let it go!”, you sigh, rolling your eyes as you point to a room across from you both. “This is my first class.”

“Alright. I’ll see you at lunch later, okay?”

“Ah, Miss Y/N. I saw you were in my class this year. Hopefully you’ll behave, yeah?” Mr. C smiled with you nodded. “Good. I gave Steve the same warning. Now I’m just waiting for—”

Eddie skids into the classroom with his hands high into the air. “Mr. C! My favorite teacher!”

“Mhmm. Mr. Munson, please, for my old heart can you keep it together for me this year?”

“No promises.” Red paints your face as the metalhead’s eyes finally land on you, drinking you in. “But who knows. Obviously, people can surprise you. Hey sweetheart.”

“Ay yi yi. Ok, none of that. Both of you take a seat.”

As you turn, your eyes meet Steve’s as he lets out a shaky breath and flashes you a tender smile. Unfortunately, there weren’t three seats together so you were a bit farther from them than you would have preferred but at least you had one class together. 

You hadn’t realized how much you actually missed them until they were in front of you again. Eddie still looked the same with his torn up blue jeans and heavy metal shirt blanketed under the smell of cigarette smoke. Steve had grown his hair out a bit more and seemed like he got some sun this summer. Currently, they were radiating that softness that you enjoyed when they were taking care of you. 

That was short lived however when a new face entered the classroom. 

You’d be lying if you didn’t say you thought the boy that came in was incredibly attractive. His blue eyes penetrated your own as he sauntered over and stopped at the seat in front of yours. 

“Hey, man. Do you mind finding another desk?”, he asked the boy sitting in the desk. When he didn’t immediately stand, his beautiful eyes clouded over with intensity. “Move. Now.”

The kid promptly collected his things and quickly shuffled away as the man grinned, turning to you as he extended his hand. “I’m Billy Hargrove. What’s your name, pretty girl?”

“I’m, uh, I’m Y/N.”

Billy smirked as you stuttered out your answer. There was something intimating about the man in front of you that scared you slightly but not in the same way Eddie and Steve had. The boys originally frightened you because of the way they made you feel. Billy, on the other hand, had this air about him that practically screamed he liked things his way whether you liked it or not. You imagined he knew how to satisfy a woman but with that extra sense of arrogance he wasn’t going to stay with one for long. 

As you scanned the room again, you found both Eddie and Steve glaring at him with immense anger. Shit. This may be a long year.

#########

The rest of the day went by much too slowly for your liking. You found out you did have one more class each with the guys and you three still shared a lunch period. As the day went on though they started to feel more distant as they huffed at the people around you who gawked as you walked by. 

After your basketball practice as you and the team started to head in to get showered and leave for the day, you passed the guys team having their own practice.

As you entered the gym, you noticed Eddie leaning against the risers with his arms folded as he watched the display in front of him. Billy was in front of Steve bouncing the basketball mockingly in front of him as he cockily grinned in his direction. 

“What’s going on?”

Eddie glanced at you before turning back to the court. 

“Seems your new boyfriend is trying to take Steve’s place on the team.”

“Really? My boyfriend.”, you sighed as you rolled your eyes.

“Roll your eyes like that again, Y/N. I dare you.” His eyes never leave the game as he speaks. “Seems this summer made you believe things are different. I’m sorry, sweetheart, but they aren’t. We still own you.”

“What makes you angrier, Eddie? The fact he sat in front of me or the fact that he showed more control by moving someone to sit with me? Makes you wonder else he’d do to be near me.”

As if on cue, Billy shoulder checks Steve knocking him to the ground as he runs around him to make a basket. The teams claps as he grins before he notices you watching, giving a subtle wink before focusing on the game again. 

“Hm. I can’t wait to tell Steve you said that. I’m very curious to see what he thinks.”

With that you turn and head for the locker room as nerves fill your stomach. You’re going to regret saying that but you weren’t sure how or where it would come from. 

############

They practically ignored you for the rest of the week which made you both furious and heartbroken. You spent all summer missing them even falling asleep in Steve’s sweatshirt or Eddie’s jacket just to have them close in some way. Why weren’t they as desperate to have you as you were to have them?

“Hey, pretty girl.” You head swiveled around to meet Billy’s cocky smile as he threw his shirt on the risers behind you while you were sitting in the gym during your free period. “Come to watch me play?” Steve passed you both, his eyes full of fire as he walked by. “Oh, I see. You have crush on ‘King’ Steve Harrington. Trust me, baby girl. He’s not worth your time.”

“Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me things like that.”

“Ooo… do I have to earn it? I’m really good at that game.”

He chuckles as he runs out onto the court and the team begins practice. Billy is just as ruthless as he was the last time you watched them practice, him taunting Steve any chance he could but like the fighter he was Steve was always right back in front of him trying to take the ball. 

“Do you know she has a crush on you? Is that way you’re trying so hard, Harrington?” Billy shoves around him, knocking him down as he makes a basket. You get to your feet and run to help him up, but the other boy beats you reaching out his hand for him to take. “Oh, I get it. You like her to. This is going to be fun for me.” He chuckles as he pushes Steve back down to the floor. 

Your hand reaches for his and he aggressively smacks it out of the way, jumping to his feet and exiting the double doors to the outside the gym. Running after him, you find him pacing as he fumes. 

“Steve? Are you okay?”

When you extend your hand again, his palms grip either side of your face as he backs you against the brick wall, crashing his lips to yours. You mewled at the taste of him as you pulled his hips to yours. 

“You think he shows more control than we do? That he’d do anything to be with you?”

“Steve—”

He cut you off with his mouth on yours as he unbuttoned your jeans and slid his hand through the waistband of your panties. You moaned, gripping the back of his neck as his fingers breached your entrance. 

“You really did forget a lot while you were away. This pussy and your body belong to us. Only we can make you feel this good.” All you can do is nod as he steadily builds you up. “You think because you come home with this new look and attitude that you can do better than us?”

“No…no, Steve. I—mmm—I only want you two. I missed you both so much.” He curled his fingers inside of you practically lifting you on to your toes as you hand flew down to grab his wrist. “Steve, please.”

Your other hand tugged on his sweaty shirt as your head fell to his chest, your moans muffled as you came. You continued to pant as he removed his hand and buttoned your jeans back around your waist. “Don’t let him get under your skin.” Your tone was soft as you pressed your body to his. 

Steve sighed heavily before you felt his arms finally wrap around you. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

“I don’t either. He calls me names you guys call me and it just feels weird.”

“Weird how?” His tone shifts back into authoritative as he pulls your head back to look at your face. “Does he make you uncomfortable? We can talk to him. I can knock him on his ass.”

“No, baby, no. Don’t worry about him. Just ignore him. I, um, I hope it’s ok but I got you guys something while I was gone. Can I come over after school and give them to you?”

“Yeah, of course.” You grin as he kisses your forehead before running back into the gym.

############

“Where are your parents?”

“Uh, my dad is in Europe…I think…and my mom went with him.”, Steve shrugs as Eddie lights a cigarette and leans back against one of the lawn chairs by the pool. 

“I hear you bought us things.”

Smiling, you reach into your bag and hand them each a box. Steve beams as he holds up a pair of sunglasses and places them over his eyes. 

“They’re like the ones Tom Cruise wears in that movie you like.”

“Risky Business. Yeah! How do I look? Do I look just like him?”

“Better.”, you giggle as you turn to Eddie, pausing when you notice his vacant expression as he stares at the gorgeous, gemstone Dungeons and Dragons dice in his hand. “Did I get the right kind? I don’t know much about D&D but the guy in the store said these were perfect for a… Dungeon Master? I think that’s what you said you were, right?”

“I did. Um, yeah, no, princess these are beautiful. No one’s ever got me a thoughtful gift like this before.” His arms wrap around you as he kisses your temple before pulling you down with him against the chair making you laugh. “Thank you.”

There’s a comfortable silence that follows as Eddie continues smoking with you laying on his chest between his legs, his hand occasionally rubbing your arm while Steve stares off into the distance still wearing the sunglasses.

Was this what they meant when they said they wanted to just be? You didn’t mind it, feeling like you could stay this way forever. The only problem was Steve was so far away…

“What are you thinking about, pretty girl?”

“Huh?”

“You just sighed. What’s running through your mind?”, Eddie asked with that syrupy sweet tone you dreamed about while you were away. 

“I’m just thinking about how far Steve is right now.”

“Hm. Kinda greedy today, huh? I heard Steve made you cum outside the gym, naughty girl.”

“But I haven’t seen you both in over two months. I missed you. D-Did you miss me?”

“Uh oh, Eds. She’s reverting back to that shy little girl again. It must be you, dude.”

“I’m not a little girl!”

“Hm. Sound like a little girl to me.”

You know what you’re doing and so do they, you three waiting for someone to make the next move. You decide it will be you, hoping they respond the way you want them to; NEED them to. 

“Well, fine then. If I’m such a little girl and you didn’t miss me, I guess I’ll go home.” Pushing Eddie’s arm out of the way you march back into Steve’s house and head for the front door. As you open it, a ringed hand cuts you off, and slams it shut.

“Where do you think you’re going, little girl?” He starts to slowly walk you backwards towards the living room. “You think you can talk to us like that and then just leave? I thought you were smarter than that.”

“Seems like she still needs a reminder of who’s in charge.”, Steve grins as he closes the back door and leans against it. 

“Is that what you need, little girl?”, Eddie taunts. 

“I’m NOT a little girl.”, you growl. 

He towers over you as his eyes stare you down. “Yes, you are. You’re a bratty…slutty…bad…little girl.” Between each word he gave you a small but forceful shove until you stumbled onto the couch. He sat beside you, his fingers pinching your cheeks as he turned your head to look at him. “Say it.”

When you shake your head, Eddie loosens his grip, running his thumb along your bottom lip. “Steve?” The other boy descends to the floor between your legs, unbuttoning your jeans, and tugs them off your body. 

Abruptly, a palm connects with your face eliciting a squeak from you. Your eyes meet the metalheads as he searches within them, gauging your reaction. When you don’t respond or protest, his fingers grip your cheeks again. 

“Do you remember what we talked about before you left? About us having titles and taking care of you?”

“And…in return I show you the…respect you deserve?”, you pant; completely turned on by his words and the slap he delivered you. 

“Yeah, sweetheart, that’s right.” He pauses when your breathing stutters as you feel Steve pull down your panties and toss them aside. “Is that something you want to try…with us? For example, I just hit you. Did…f-fuck… did you like it? Say yes or no and then follow it with Sir or Master.”

You moaned, feeling Steve’s breath hit your core as your legs opened wider for him. “Yes, S-sir. I liked you slapping me.” His tongue licked a stripe between your folds and you practically melted into the couch. 

“See? You’re a natural.” Eddie’s lips delicately traced your jawline down to your neck. That combined with Steve wrapping his mouth around your clit was having you seeing stars. 

“Wh-what should I—mmm—what should I call, Steve?”

“What feels right? I have a feeling when it comes to Stevie, there’s been something in the forefront of your mind. Just say it and see if he likes it.”

You lick your lips as your fingers tangle in his soft hair, pressing him further into your cunt. “Daddy…” 

They both groan as Steve’s tongue flicks faster against your nub. Eddie unbuttons his jeans and lifts his hips to push them and his boxers down his legs. His lips roughly find yours for a moment before clinging to your face again. 

“Say it. Say you’re a fucking little girl.” Your eyes start to flutter closed and he pulls his hand back to smack you again. “Harrington! Don’t let her cum until she says it.” 

“I’m…I’m a…” You struggle to find the words as you hurtle quickly towards the edge.

“If you cum before you say it, I’m going to use my belt to punish you again and I won’t be as nice as he was!”

“Fuck! I’m a little girl! Please…please!” Your thighs close around his head as you cum, lifting your hips off the couch. Steve’s fingers force your legs open as he continues licking you clean. 

When he sits up on his knees, you bring your lips to his, tasting yourself on his breath. You don’t see it but both men glance at each other as Eddie nods his approval. Steve lifts off his shirt as you reach down to unbuckle his belt and tug at his jeans. 

As he leans back to take them off, the metalhead’s fingers turn you to face him. “Now, be honest, we…we have to ask. Were you with anyone in New York?” His tone is gentle, not carrying any accusation within his words. 

“We just need to know if we need to use condoms.”, Steve follows as he runs his palms along your thighs. 

“No, I swear I wasn’t. Were…were you…with anyone?” Your eyes squeeze shut and a thankful sigh escapes your lips when they both shake their heads. 

Eddie lifts off your shirt and Steve leaned forward to passionately kiss your lips. Your eyes rolled back as he reached between you both to guide his cock into your entrance as his arms wrapped around your back. He clung to your body as thrust into you at a steady pace, his mouth and tongue attaching to your nipple making you whimper. 

“Say it again, baby girl. Mmm…call me that name again.”

“Daddy.”

“Fuck me…” His hips rolled into yours as you lifted your own off the couch to meet his pushing him deeper into you. Your head lulls to side to search for Eddie but he was still in the same place stroking his cock as he watched you. 

“Fuck, princess. I can’t wait to have you after him. I’m gonna fuck you so hard you’ll be feeling me for weeks.”

“God damn it.”, Steve grunted as your pussy clenched at Eddie’s promise. His head fell beside yours as he pumped into you faster. “Beg me, honey. Beg Daddy to make you cum.”

Your lips pressed against the shell of his ear as your fingers pulled at his hair. “Please, Daddy. Please make me cum. Mmm… fuck…I missed you so much. You feel so good inside me.”

His mouth sloppily kissed your own, swallowing your moans as you came. “That’s it. Fuck…such a good girl…” Steve’s voice trailed off as he pushed up on his hands and slammed his hip into you as released his seed deep inside of your cunt.

As soon as the other boy pulled out, Eddie was on you, wrapping his arm around your stomach as he tugged you back against the couch until you were laying on your side with him behind you. His fingers roughly gripped your thigh, holding your leg in the air as he slid his throbbing cock into your dripping hole. 

True to his word, he thrust into aggressively, bordering the line between pleasure and pain. His blown-out eyes met yours when your hand reached out to hold the one the that was dangling off the couch behind your head. 

“Steve’s right. Mmm…such a good…beautiful girl.” His lips kissed yours before your whimper vibrated against them as his fingers circled your clit. “Look at me, Y/N. Don’t…take your eyes off me.” Eddie’s mouth opened in a silent O as he watched you struggle to keep them open. “Does that feel good, baby?”

His fingers left your bundle of nerves as they flew to your face so he could pinch your cheeks. “I asked you a fucking question. You answer me, little girl. Does my cock feel good?”

“Yes—mmm—yes, Sir. Your cock…feels so fucking good.”

“Don’t you dare take those eyes off of me, ok?” He places his hand back between your legs as you moan. Eddie’s hips start to faulter as he watches you come undone, screaming his name as tumble over the edge. As your pussy clings to him, he drops your leg as he clings to hips, grunting as he cums inside you. 

You both pant as you try to catch your breath. A hand pets at your hair and you turn your head to see Steve’s soft eyes glancing over your face. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” When you respond your voice comes out hoarse giving him pause. 

“I’m going to grab a bottle of water.”

After you watch him leave, you turn back to see Eddie’s eyes are closed. Delicately treading the waters again, you lift your arm, placing it under his head and to your pleasant surprise he scoots closer to you, pulling your body to his. 

“Alright, honey. Drink some of this.” Steve places his hand behind you as he guides the bottle of liquid to your lips. “Atta girl. Eddie, do you want some?”

The metalhead declines with a cute nu uh sound that makes you giggle as you feel him smile against your skin. 

“Come on, Munson. We still have to clean her so she can go home.” Your eyes swivel around to find Steve as he tilts his head. “Don’t you? Your parents expect you home at a certain time.”

“Yes, but I don’t want to go home yet.”

“We don’t want you to go either, baby, but we don’t want you to get in trouble.” You sigh as Eddie releases you so you can both sit up. “Do you want to use my shower or…”

“I don’t think I can make it up the stairs.”

“I can carry you—”

“No…no, Steve. I’m ok.” You lean against Eddie’s shoulder as Steve heads back towards the kitchen to find a washcloth. “Eddie? Did I do good?”

He chuckles through his nose as he reaches down to hold your hand. “Princess, you were more than good. Did you…like it?”

You nod as the other boy reappears and sits beside you, gently opening your legs as he cleans between them. Steve stops when you hiss and bite you bottom lip. 

“Sore.”

“Y/N, um, we’ve been thinking a lot and talking over the summer…” Your eyes shoot open as you look at him, terrified of what he’s about to say next. “We still don’t know how to define this but we do want you to be comfortable.”

“You said you liked being used and degraded but we’ve never talked about anything that may be a step too far.”

“Well…what would be a step too far for you?” They both laugh at your question making you pout. 

“We asked you first, honey.”

“I-I don’t know how to answer that. I just know that I didn’t like what I had before with guys. So far, I’ve enjoyed everything. I’m open to trying anything with you two. I’m yours.”

“Fuck, you’re going to make me hard again.”, Steve sighs as he starts helping you get dressed. 

“Um, I have a question. Do I call you by your titles now? All the time?”

Eddie finishes sliding on his jeans before extending his hand to help you off the couch. “Do you want that?”

“I asked you first.”, you parrot back as you grin. 

“How about yes when it’s just the three of us?”

“I’m ok with that, Sir.”

“Jesus Christ.”, he mewls before leaning down to kiss your lips. 

“Still so fascinating.” Steve kisses you as well, taking your hand as he walks you both outside to your vehicles. “Can you call us when you get home?”

“Of course, Daddy.”

He smirks as he opens your car door for you. 

“Glad your back home, honey. We missed you to.”

#############

@manda-panda-monium @sherrylyn628 @local-stoner-bitch

@katethetank @danandphilequalsmemes @luna-munson83

@sidthedollface2 @mandyjo8719 @chelebelletx @shayeddie

@emmalee-01 @anaibis @wroteclassicaly

@fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @siriuslysmoking

@raptorbait529

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I’ve been dreaming of the Spearman of Spades.

The journey was tough, and the battles tougher. At the height of his success, he's his own worst enemy.

With this spear and his strength, he will dutifully serve his sovereign.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

Deuce hardly recognizes the young man in the mirror.

It's him--it's very obviously him: navy bangs, aquamarine eyes, the spade mark on his left eye, Heartslabyul uniform--but it doesn't feel like him. Not the same stiff, awkward first year that had stumbled onto Night Raven Campus, all his rough edges still not sanded down. The time had flown by, rounding him out.

Second year Deuce is different. Built studier, packed with more muscle from track meets. The wild glint in his eyes is tamped down, shielded by a certain seriousness.

It’s still me… right?

Deuce swallows, anxiously fidgeting with the brim of his hat. It's a keepsake passed down from his senior.

"I won't be needing this for my internship. It's yours now," Trey had told him. "Wear it well, okay?"

"... Do I deserve to?" he mumbles to his reflection. Me?

"Of course you do, idiot. Quit doubting yourself."

Deuce startles--but calms once he feels an arm sling around his shoulder, and a familiar cheeky face joins him in the mirror. Ace hangs off of him easily, the two troublemakers peas in a pod.

"Hey. Nervous?" his friend asks with a smirk.

"More than ever," he confesses. His breathing is shaky, despite his best attempts to wrestle control of it.

"Well, don't be." Deuce rolls his eyes at the simple, snarky response. Very Ace of him. "I don't care what anyone else says, you'll kill this." A pause. "If you don't pass out before then, that is."

"Thanks for the encouragement." The sarcasm is palpable.

"Don't mention it!" Ace replies cheerily. "Where would you be without me, huh? Better put in a good word on my behalf."

“Can’t guarantee that.”

“Ah, come oooh! Cut your buddy some slack here. I’ve been behaving myself recently, I deserve something nice.”

“Being nice should be its own reward.”

“Bro, you sound like the headmaster,” Ace remarks, wrinkling his nose. Clearly, not a compliment.

Ding!

Deuce lifts a brow. “Is that…”

“Huh? Oh—it’s my phone.” Ace whips out his mobile device, checks his messages, and groans.

“Something up?”

“Yeah, uh… It’s a special guest we’re receiving. You know! For today’s ceremony. They got lost in the hedge maze, so they told us they miiight be running late for this very important date.”

Deuce frowns. “We’re starting in a few minutes and Rosehearts-senpai can be really strict about punctuality.”

“Don’t worry about it!! I’ve got it covered. All you gotta do is go to that ceremony and soak up all the praise.”

Before Deuce can protest, the fanfare of distant trumpets meets their ears. It is a victorious song, one ushering in new beginnings. He shares a look with Ace, who grins wickedly.

"Aaaand there's your cue. Talk about timing.” He aggressively smacks Deuce on the back. "Go ahead, everyone's waiting for you. I gotta go help out our special guest, but I’ll be in the crowd! Catch ya later!"

"See you…” He has barely finished speaking, but Ace is already gone.

Deuce sighs and fixes his posture, shoulders squared and head held high. He runs a hand through his hair, letting his locks fall back into their natural place. His gaze is deep, contemplative—an ocean wondering whether to let a wanderer sink or swim.

A generous gulp of air for his shaky confidence.

Out with the old and in with the new.

With that, he steels himself and makes a bold stride into the gardens.

Heartslabyul students stand at attention, making way for his entrance. Their best tablecloths and decorations are set out, and a band is in full swing. Even the rose trees seem celebratory today, letting loose a scatter of petals dancing in the breeze.

The sunshine, a solitary spotlight illuminating his path.

All eyes on him.

Deuce follows the road paved for him by a crimson carpet. His dorm leader, in all of his finery, awaits him at the other end with a scepter and a stern smile. When he reaches Riddle, the redhead clears his throat.

At once, the trumpets cut off. The song, at its end at his command.

Deuce immediately lowers into a kneel. His eyes are kept trained on the ground, both to steady his stance and to keep from being ill on the spot.

Riddle looks to the waiting crowd, his authoritative voice projecting outward. “Students of Heartslabyul! We are gathered here today to witness the ascension of one among you: Deuce Spade.”

“Yes, dorm leader!”

“He has proven himself worthy countless times over,” Riddle continues, glowing with pride. “Deuce entered this institution with a crude attitude and barely comprehending basic mathematics—but with time and rigorous study, he has risen from delinquency to the ranks of the honor roll.

“What’s more, Deuce has demonstrated immense honor and strength of character. Countless times has he held true to his own moral convictions, defending the weak and the downtrodden. His goodness is immeasurable—a model for us all to follow.

“Deuce Spade wholeheartedly embodies the spirit of strictness extolled by our dormitory. I can think of no better man to have as our next vice dorm leader.”

Riddle gently brings his scepter down upon Deuce. First on the right shoulder, then the left.

“You may rise.”

He does, newly knighted.

“Heartslabyul!” Riddle lays a hand on Deuce’s arm, spinning him around to face the audience. “Your new vice dorm leader!”

The students erupt into applause and cheers. Card suits of all kinda, gathered to celebrate him.

How far he has come.

“Congratulations, Deuce! Congratulations, vice dorm leader!”

“Th-Thank you!” he manages. His nerves are still in control, and his next sentence seize in his throat.

“Any words for them?” Riddle asks quietly. “Something to inspire confidence.”

An acceptance speech?! Deuce completely locks up. I-I didn’t prep for this…

“Um, I’m not sure if I…”

But he sees the eager faces of his peers, thinks of the expectations places on him. His eyes frantically search, seeking another way out, another answer. Then—

In the corner of his vision, figures darting out from the rose maze.

It’s Ace, sprinting as fast as his feet will take him. His cheeks are cherry red from exertion. He falls in line at the back of the crowd, doubling over, hands on his knees, and gasps for his breath.

Ace is followed by a woman, her bobbed hair streaked with blonde and navy—a navy not unlike Deuce’s own. She is dressed modestly, her cap and jacket stamped with a white rabbit logo, aquamarine eyes piercing through the shadow of her hat. Her lips painted a golden brown, a spade dangling from an ear.

Their special guest.

Mom?

"Deuce!!" she calls out, waving an arm at him. "I wanted to be here--to see you on your special day! I'm not too late, am I?"

"Mom...!" his voice rings out, carrying across the garden and to her. "Of course not. You..."

You're always there for me.

Deuce straightens, his courage gathering. He is a flower, freshly watered and reinvigorated as he addresses the onlookers.

“For a long time, I thought I was a bad kid... that I would always be a bad kid, no matter how much I tried. But I'm here. I've made it."

Deuce glances around the assembly. At Ace, at his dorm leader, at Riddle, at the spaces once occupied by his upperclassmen.

"So... thank you very much for giving me a second chance...! For this opportunity! I promise, I'll keep doing my very best from here on out and get better and better every day!"

He bows.

The audience is uproarious. A sharp whistle--from Ace. Riddle nods approvingly.

His tears well in spite of himself.

When he at last raises his head, he sees his mother is sobbing too.

So proud of him.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for kind of being a homewrecker?

some background: i (22f) met this guy (23m, let’s call him rick) freshman year of college, four years ago. we became really close really fast, and we basically had all the same friends (we went to a very small school, it’s hard not to be friends with most people). unfortunately i took a year off of school after freshman year, so i kind of lost contact with all my college friends. when i came back, my friends and i reconnected immediately, but especially rick. we uh… sorta made plans to hook up at that point (we were horny and dumb and mutually attracted enough), but we got to my room and we kissed (which was my first kiss) but it was bad and i changed my mind before anything happened. the thing is, we were still friends after that, and he even told me that he was in love with me and thought that i might fall in love with him. he’s also said multiple times since then that he was being idiotic and that would have been terrible for us, and i agree, so we’re both glad that nothing happened. but since we were now in different grades, we weren’t as close friends, so that year passed without further incident.

fast forward a year (my junior year, his senior) and suddenly we’re getting closer again— we’re in a mutual club and therefore hang out a lot more. i realize at some point in november that oh shit, i have a crush on him. (sidenote— i don’t have crushes. i’d never been in love. ive realized since this that i think i might be on the aromantic/demiromantic spectrum, and i’ve always just said i’m queer because i… have had a very queer experience wrt my romantic/sexual feelings. sooooo.. this was weird). i mention this to another friend, and she informs me that rick had started dating someone.

oof.

so i don’t act on my feelings and hope that they go away. (spoiler: they don’t.) in january we hung out with a group of friends almost nightly. and rick and i flirt. oh god, do we flirt. but i didn’t even notice— that’s just the way that i interact with people, and he mirrors how people around him behave, so it was just a feedback loop of flirting while one of us was in a relationship! and the worst part is that is girlfriend (i’ll call her anne) was peripherally in the friend group; she hung out with the group sometimes, but not super often.

so obviously, a couple of our more perceptive friends tell us to shut the hell up and stop it. at this point i think, you know what? i’ll just avoid him. this lasted about two days, and then one of our mutual friends (i’ll call him joe) tells me i need to talk to rick. he can’t tell me why but i just need to talk to him.

so i text rick and i set up a time to talk to him, which i’m sure was scary for him, but i say him down and told him that we need to stop, because he’s in a relationship and it’s entirely inappropriate and i’m in love with him and he’s my best friend and i don’t want to lose him. and then he laughs. he told me then that he thought i was gonna yell at him to dump anne, because he had told joe that he wasn’t in love with her and never had been. and he thought joe had told me that so i could knock some sense into him.

so uh… he told me that he was going to break up with anne that night. (which, btw, was 2 days after valentine’s day. ouch.) he also said that that didn’t mean anything for us, but… the next day we hung out one on one all day, and then the next day, and then the whole weekend, aaaaand it was kind of a relationship. we started dating. it moved very fast, because we were already friends and we had already talked about sex in the past.

the thing that really pisses me off, though, is that another mutual friend threatened to tell anne about rick and i, so rick had to tell her at a really inopportune time instead of later. she was fine about the breakup before that, but after that she was clearly pissed, and ignored us both for the rest of the year. if it hadn’t happened that way i really think that we could’ve stayed friends, or at least stayed civil, but the way that it happened is still really upsetting to me. rick and i have been dating for almost six months now, and we’re really perfect for each other and i honestly expect to spend my life with him, but the way that it started was just such a mess and it still haunts me sometimes.

(to be clear: rick never cheated on anne. he’s been cheated on before, and has a bit of trauma in regards to that. cheating is just not a possibility for him.)

so… i know that i’m probably an asshole here, but… idk. should it bother me this much? or was it more justified than i think it was?

What are these acronyms?

[joeey-dee]

Unpopular opinion but Felicity didn't deserve the career she had and didn't work for it, it was just handed to her by men she was involved with. She was severly underqualified and had no understanding of a company's hierachy and zero respect for anyone, including her superiors. It wasn't badass, it was cringe.

She was promoted from simple IT worker to EA of the CEO not for talent, not because of her experience, not because of her degree, not because of her professionalism (which she was entirely lacking) but simply because Oliver was an idiot who didn't realize the issue of "If I'm going to be Oliver Queen CEO, then I can't very well travel down 18 floors every time you and I need to discuss how we spend our nights." could've been easily taken care of by the CEO requesting she travel up the 18 floors to come see him at his office, where they could privately discuss how they spent their nights. You're the boss, have the employees come to you, not the other way around. No need to give her one hell of a promotion she didn't even appreciate.

It was absolutely no surpise Isabel and most of QC drew the conclussion she was sleeping with Oliver and got the job because of that. Her wardrobe changed from professional to too short, colorful and tight dresses, she openly disrespected her boss every chance she got, in front of other employees, his business partner (who was trying to take the company from him), and even clients. Why should anyone respect Oliver in is role as CEO if not even his EA showed him any respect and tried to demean and ridicule him any chance she got? And regularly pointed out that he'd dropped out of college? She was so ungrateful and acted as if the job was beneath her, not understanding just how important an EA for the CEO and their work is. People spend years to reach that position and it was handed to her for nothing while she was in her early twenties, overgoing more qualified personal in senior positions. It's no wonder QCs employees harbored animosity towards him. His choice was very unprofessional and the way Felicity behaved made Oliver look like a joke and not someone to be taken seriously and knew what he was doing.

Also, she was then responsible for Oliver losing the company. Showed zero loyalty towards him by taking the job his rival who took the company from him offered, then sleeping with said man to get back at a grieving Oliver and a rise out of him. (And can we just take a minute to dissect the fact she got mad at him for 'not caring about Sara, his Sara's death' but then expected him to get over it right this second and jump in a relationship with her, make it make sense! Do you want him to grieve the woman he'd loved for eight years or do you want him to pretend he doesn't care and get involved with you right away? Make up your mind woman!) Using Ray to get what she wants. Ray hands the company over to her even after the shitty and disrespectful way she treated him, used him really, while she had zero qualifications to run it. She got the company because she was sleeping with Ray. And Ray later on in Legends regrets that choice after she ran it to the ground.

Felicity never considers offering the company to Thea, after she and Oliver broke up. Oliver might not have wanted it but Thea may have and she'd been a great choice. Felicity uses the company's scientific discoveries for her own personal needs, does a really bad job with the board who obviously neither like nor respect her, she hasn't earned her position, she might have gone to MIT but she doesn't have a business degree, any understanding of how an international company like QC is being run and lacking the people skills to potentially make up for her lack of knowledge nor is she willing to listen to and learn from other people because she feels she knows best, she graduated from MIT! What do those people with their business majors and years upon years of experience in the field know compared to her IT knowledge from MIT?

Felicity literally slept herself into the position she was in and it was no wonder she wasn't respected by the company's board and employees. She'd done nothing to earn that position or their respect.

Let me know what you guys think and if I'm alone with this opinion on the matter. It just always bugged me how little respect was shown for the position of an EA and how unrealistic Felicity's rise in the company was. One degree isn't interchangable with another and it doesn't matter how prestigious the college you graduated from was if your degrees aren't in the field you now work in. You might be the most knowledgable about computers but that doesn't mean you know how to run an international billion dollar company and she obviously didn't.

[thewickedmerman]

My Top 10 Favorite Disney Heroines

Okay, so I've recently been having some issues with making videos and until I can sort it out, I can't really get any new clips for videos. So that makes it harder for me to be able to talk about certain topics I want to discuss on YouTube. However, I really want to talk about this so I decided to make a post here on Tumblr and when I have my technical issues sorted out, I'll post a YouTube version. However, since I'm not playing a character on Tumblr, that means that this won't include my signature merfolk language like "mermazing", "What the Tartarus", or "Dear sweet Poseidon." But you can expect that in my video when I sort out my technical issues.

Anyway, I’ve been criticizing Disney quite a bit lately and while that’s been both fun and therapeutic, I’m still a MASSIVE fan of Disney and would like to talk about something great from them. Since one of my more recent videos where I fixed Disney’s adorkable problem has gotten popular, I figured I would talk about my top 10 favorite Disney heroines. Now lets establish the guidelines. I will only be talking about Disney’s animated heroines, I will only be including characters from their animated movies so that means no TV show heroines like Kim Possible will be included, and I won’t be including characters from properties that Disney has bought. So that means that characters like Anastasia/Anya from Anastasia won’t be included, otherwise she would be in my top 3. Why? Because apart from putting them on DisneyPlus, Disney hasn’t done anything to promote or profit off of these movies so it’s hard to consider them to be actual Disney movies. It’s why I still don’t consider movies like Anastasia to be Disney movies.

But other than that, I will have free range in what heroines make my list. So that means Pixar and Disney sequel heroines will be included. Keep in mind that this will be heavily bias, since this is obviously my opinion. So your favorites aren’t necessarily my favorites and vise versa. Feel free to share your favorites and your thoughts on my list. Just don’t be an asshole about it! Now without any further delay, lets dive right on it.

10. Lilo (Lilo and Stitch Franchise)

This is definitely one of the BEST child characters EVER and I don’t just mean from Disney. She’s weird, eccentric, emotional, she gets into fights, she’s sweet, charming, hilarious, clever, adventurous, sassy, and is just the most entertaining part of her movie. And considering the cast of characters in this franchise, that’s saying A LOT. I love how she is into unconventional things that a girl her age typically isn’t into. It’s great rep for those of us who were the weird kid growing up. I mean, while I wasn’t into the things she was into, being a boy who was, and still is, into traditionally feminine things made me a bit of an outcast growing up. Speaking of great rep, many have said that Lilo is autistic-coded, and while this hasn’t been confirmed by either the original creators or Disney, I definitely can get behind it. Speaking as someone who is autistic, I definitely remember having similar behaviors to Lilo at that age. Not entirely because everyone with autism is different. Me and my wife (@keeloves) are both autistic but we have different sensory issues from each other and behaved differently from each other as kids but still saw ourselves in Lilo. My wife particularly sees herself in Lilo, due to being a brown autistic woman, which you don’t get a lot of rep with in media.

But anyway, even if I didn’t connect to Lilo because of my autism, I would still adore her, especially since I didn’t learn I was autistic until I was a senior in high school and I still grew up loving Lilo. She has a creative way of doing things and it helps her stand out from a lot of heroines. Even heroines that are allegedly supposed to be more unique and break the mold like Mirabel from Encanto, can’t hold a candle to Lilo’s uniqueness. She has a style that’s all her own and that’s what makes her the perfect friend for Stitch, along with her immense generosity. Many have said Lilo means lost in Hawaiian but it can also mean generous one, which perfectly describes Lilo, due to her not only being lonely, but also her generous heart that managed to break through to Stitch. However, she has her limits and when pushed too far will come at you hard. I also relate to her loneliness as someone who has a hard time both making friends and maintaining friendships. She also has some of the best lines in the movie. Her personality continues to shine in the other forms of media she appears in and you can’t have a Lilo and Stitch product without her because she’s the heart of the franchise. Yes, I’m aware of those stupid shows that don’t have Lilo and I don’t plan on watching them. They don’t exist!

9. Jane (Return to Neverland) and Raya (Raya and the Last Dragon)

Hey, I never said that I wouldn’t have ties on my list. Don’t worry, this will be the only tie on this list. But to keep it organized, I will be talking about each of these characters individually before I talk about why I can’t decide who I love more.

Starting with Jane, she’s a character who isn’t like most Disney heroines that are adventurous and dream of something more. Instead, she’s a young girl who is living during wartime and is just trying to survive and do what she can to take care of her family. She’s the daughter of Wendy from the original Peter Pan but the two couldn’t be more different. Whereas Wendy is a soft-spoken optimist who is full of childlike wonder, Jane is a practical pessimist with a sharp tongue that has become jaded due to her situation. This gives her more of an arc with her story compared to her mother, who is by no means a bad character. This helps her stand out among all the Disney sequel children who tend to share their parents personality traits. I love how they don’t have Jane just be a stick in the mud for no reason. She has an understandable reason for why she is the way that she is and I think people tend to overlook that because she’s so different from the heroines that we’re used to seeing from Disney. She had to grow up fast due to her experiences and she longs for her childhood days when she could believe in things like Peter Pan, Neverland, and pixie dust. However, she knows she has to be strong but she also needs to learn to regain some of her childhood wonder to help get her through the hard times. I honestly love her relationship with Peter Pan. Not only do they have amazing chemistry, but I love how unlike the female characters in the previous movies, who tend to fawn all over him and boost his ego, Jane deflates his ego, helps him mature a bit, and calls out his behavior. I love that even if she’s not as snarky as characters like Megara that Jane is still snarky. But she also has a loving side and can be taken in by the beauty of Neverland when she’s being shown Neverland. I honestly see a lot of myself in Jane and I loved seeing her growth as a character. She’s such a complex character and she’s just a child. She’s the best thing to come out of the Peter Pan franchise. Yes, even better than Tinkerbell and I love how she calls out Tinkerbell as well.

Now we move on to Raya. For those of you who have seen my video about fixing Disney’s adorkable problem, I mentioned that Raya is one of the few heroines of the revival era that doesn’t have an adorkable personality, making her one of the more unique characters of the era. Unlike the bubbly, optimistic, quirky, and over-the-top heroines of the era, Raya is mature, snarky, pessimistic, cheeky, serious, and jaded. This is a character type that is not only unique for this era of Disney but is also a rare type of character from Disney in general. I love that she’s not so optimistic and bubbly but can still be sweet and caring towards the ones she loves. Also, speaking as someone who has trust issues, I do relate to Raya and her journey with her distrust of people. She’s been hurt and when she trusted someone, the world ended up broken because of it. So her trying to save the world isn’t about trying to help the world but to help her kingdom and bring her father back. On the one hand it’s selfless for her to do this for her people but on the other hand, she’s selfish for not caring about the rest of the world but it makes sense because of her experiences and trust issues. I also love how she’s a bit xenophobic but she slowly starts to let down her walls and trust others from different clans. I love characters that are relatable but also have a lesson they have to learn that helps them grow as people and Raya definitely fits the bill. I also love how unlike other heroines, who are great with kids and babies, she was very awkward when interacting with Noi at first. It shows that not everyone is great with kids and it’s something that can be learned. It also shows her growth with how she’s able to let herself have connections with others. But she’s also a badass of a fighter! The woman has moves! But I love that there’s more to her than just her physical strength. I love her snarky and jaded personality and her journey. Plus, it's unique how she's a Disney Princess who wasn't wanting more out of life but rather wanted to the life she used to have back. Not to mention how she was the closed-minded one while her father was the open-minded one. I also love how became one of the few Disney protagonists that are willing to kill. Granted, she didn’t do it but she was willing to kill Namaari during the climax of the movie. But she’s ultimately a good person who comes to the realization that it wasn’t right. She’s a phenomenal and underrated character from a phenomenal and underrated movie. Give us more characters like her and unique personalities, Disney.

As for why I can’t decide between the two, it’s honestly because both of them are pretty similar. Both are snarky, jaded, practical, responsible, and act as the straight man in their respective movies amongst the more chaotic characters they come across. Not to mention, both long for the simpler days when their lives were actually happy but can’t because of how their worlds have shaped them. They have great character growth and their way of thinking is technically wrong but you also understand why they are the way they are. So with how similar they are, I can’t really decide who I love more so I decided not to. The two of them are truly amazing characters and actually break the mold of the heroines we tend to see from Disney and I adore them for that.

8. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)

Just like Raya, she’s one of the few heroines from the revival era that actually has a unique personality and in my opinion is the best heroine from this era. I love how she’s practical and serious like Jane and Raya but it’s not because she’s jaded. It’s just because she’s determined, ambitious, and a workaholic. But even without her being jaded, there’s also an explanation for why she is the way she is. She has a dream that people say will be impossible for her to achieve due to her being a black woman of low status and a dream her father spent his whole life to achieve but never managed to see happen. She’s worked two jobs her entire life and has to work so much harder than everyone else just to prove herself. But I love that she’s also a bit playful, caring, friendly, does want to have fun but just can’t let herself, and is still creative. Almost There shows off the massive extent of her incredible imagination. I love how passionate she is about her dream and cooking. I adore how she never loses her passion and fire no matter what. I wish I had her drive in life to help make my dreams come true. She inspires me and it kills me that both she and her movie are so underrated when really they deserve to be getting the attention that Frozen got. I honestly can’t wait to see what they do in the new Tiana series and I just pray that they don’t disappoint me. Tiana is truly a great character and it’s a shame more people don’t realize it. Even in her frog form, her personality shines through with her hard-working and witty personality. Not to mention, she has great growth as a character. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a dream but you shouldn’t let that keep you from also living your life. She’s confident in certain areas but she’s also insecure as well. It helps make her a layered character and one of the most three-dimensional heroines from the revival era. Truly one of Disney’s best leading ladies.

7. Pocahontas (Pocahontas)

First of all, yes, I know that the movie is problematic with its misrepresentation of the real Pocahontas’ life, showing both sides being in the wrong when in real life it was the white settlers who were the only ones in the wrong, and portraying Pocahontas in a romantic relationship with John Smith when she was a child when they met and the fact that he intended to colonize her people. However, I still ADORE the movie! Yes, it has its issues but it also has gorgeous animation, incredible songs, an amazing musical score, an engaging romance, likable and iconic characters, a great message that’s definitely relevant today, and most importantly one of the best protagonists to ever come out of Disney.

Despite the issues Native Americans rightfully have with her movie, one thing, at least from my understanding, that they universally agree on is that in terms of personality, Pocahontas is spot on. So it’s really no wonder that Pocahontas herself is the best thing about the movie. I adore how she’s curious, adventurous, mischievous, fun-loving, playful, and daring. However, she’s also smart and mature. She’s undeniably a remarkable character that deserves nothing but praise. I love how she has a journey of finding her path but isn’t sure what her path is. And I don’t mean like she has to decide between two things but rather she has no idea what her second option is. It’s something a lot of people can relate to who can’t decide what they want to do with their life. So it’s interesting and unique to have a character who doesn’t have a clear idea of what they want but still know they want more than the life that has been planned for them. When you think about it, Pocahontas is a pretty complex character in that sense and it’s one of the reasons I adore her along with her just being a fun and exciting character. One of my favorite scenes is just her going down the water rapids and instead of her just going down the safe path that she goes with the more exciting and fun path because it’s just who she is. I mean, when she’s supposed to just come down to the river and get into the canoe with Nakoma, she could just run down there but instead, she chooses the more daring option of diving off. I wish I had the amount of guts she has. She’s such an exciting character and there’s nothing dull about her. But she also stands up for what is right and will lay her own life down in order to do what needs to be done. She’s such an underrated character that it’s painful to think about. I adore Pocahontas and consider her to be one of the best characters Disney has ever created.

6. Anastasia Tremaine (Cinderella Sequels)

Originally starting off as a minor villain in the original Cinderella, Anastasia has since become one of the most complex and interesting characters to ever come out of Disney. Even people who hate the Disney sequels tend to agree that she’s one of the best things to come out of these cash grabs. She’s so great that even the show Once Upon a Time in Wonderland continued the trend of making her a sympathetic character, with her being played flawlessly by Emma Rigby. But anyway, I adore how she still has some traits from her original appearance with her lacking elegance and grace, being a clutz, being a bit ditzy (But not dumb), and having a bit of a temper to her. It shows that just because someone becomes good, they don’t lose all of their negative traits or become 100% different because that’s not realistic. However, she’s incredibly sympathetic with how she’s a victim of her mother and sister’s abuse but they don’t erase the fact that she was abusive to Cinderella. As they say, hurt people hurt people. People are complex and it’s amazing to see someone who was abusive can also be the abuse victim without erasing past mistakes. But they don’t have Cinderella judge her on the person she used to be but rather the person she is now. In A Twist in Time, we do see her show guilt towards Cinderella. She’s just someone who wanted to be loved and for someone to love her for who she is and not what her mother wanted her to be. Honestly, I wish Disney would explore more characters like Anastasia who aren’t conventionally attractive and can also be complex and interesting. She kind of reminds me of Helga from Hey Arnold. And honestly, while Cinderella herself is still a great an admirable character, I prefer her step-sister. In fact, I might have a video analyzing what a great and complex character Anastasia is in the future (Or even post it here on Tumblr), so keep an eye out for that.

5. Megara (Hercules)

But her friends call her Meg, at least they would if she had any friends. Yeah, you know I had to quote that. Much like Anastasia, Meg didn’t start off as a heroine but rather as a minion to the villain. I honestly went back and forth on whether or not I preferred Anastasia or Megara but I ultimately went with Megara because of her amazing snark. Being someone who is incredibly sarcastic, sassy, and snarky, I relate to characters who are like that as well. She’s honestly the sassiest Disney character ever. Literally no one can match her. Yes, there have been sassy and snarky characters from Disney, a good number of them are even on this list, but none meet the same level of sarcasm as her. She’s one of the most unique Disney heroines with her starting off as a bit of an antagonist, being way more snarky and jaded than Disney’s heroines, and actually having a romantic history instead of just only being in a relationship with one person in your life and that’s the one you end up marrying. A lot of people can relate to Meg and the fact that she gave and gave all her love to someone she was in a relationship with but that person just didn’t love her as much and left her for someone else. She gave so much that she sold her soul to save her boyfriend’s life only for him to dump her for some random girl. No wonder she swore off love and became so jaded. But I love how she learns to love again and sees that it’s not bad to give yourself to someone so long as it’s the right person because just like how Megara gave up her life to save Hercules, he was willing to give his life to gets hers back. While Hercules is a great and engaging character, I find Meg’s journey more engaging. She’s a great character and it’s no wonder that she’s so beloved. Plus, she’s a snarky queen!

4. Angel (Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure)

Yeah, can you tell that I have a thing for characters that are snarky and jaded? She reminds me a lot of Megara, albeit, not as extreme due to being a kid and her movie having a different tone to Hercules. It’s no wonder that I love her, especially when her movie is also one of my top 10 favorite Disney movies of all-time. I love how she is very sly and confident but isn’t cocky or arrogant. However, despite her confidence, she also has her insecurities about her wanting a permanent family, since she’s had five families that have taken her in but when she starts to think that this one is for keeps, they move, have a new baby, or have an allergy. So despite her desire for a family, she’s jaded about the world and feels that she can only depend on herself and only sticks around the junkyard dogs because she has no other alternative. I love how even though she’s a major factor in Scamp’s development and is basically the glue that holds this movie together, Scamp helps with her development. He allows her to be brave enough to be vulnerable and to see that you don’t have to only look out for yourself because he looks out for her. The two of them help each other to grow just like a true couple should. Despite their age, their love is to the same level as any adult relationship because they were friends first and then fell in love. Overall, Angel is a phenomenal character that is smart, sassy, jaded, confident, insecure, layered, brave, brutal, sly, caring, kind, tomboyish but still feminine, and just so freaking adorable.

3. Mulan (Mulan)

Yeah, you know that you can’t have a top 10 best Disney heroines list without including her. I mean, what can I even say about her that hasn’t already been said. She’s a perfect character journey. She starts off trying to be the perfect bride and daughter but she just keeps messing it up, has no idea who she is or what she’s meant to be, breaks the rules and risks possible death for herself in order to save her father from certain death by taking his place in the army and disguising herself as a man, starts off terrible at training, gets better by embracing both sides of herself (The masculine and the feminine), and ultimately brings honor and saves the day by being herself. I love how, unlike the modern heroines we get nowadays, they take her journey seriously. Yes, there’s still some comedy with her but they don’t go over-the-top or make her clumsiness her most defining character trait. But her amazing actions aren’t the only great thing about her. I love her realistic clumsiness, awkwardness, wit, cleverness, kindness, caring nature, bravery, courage, creativity, and that she’s funny without having to be over-the-top. She’s far from perfect but that’s why she’s so great. She isn’t strong for just being masculine but also because she’s feminine. She’s flawed but she tries, she’s insecure but that doesn’t stop her, she wanted to save her father and bring honor but she also wanted to prove that she could do things right. And yet, they still made sure she was a likable character with a three-dimensional personality so that we actually care about her journey. I feel like modern Disney could learn a thing or two from Mulan. And the less said about that awful live-action remake or that horrendous direct-to-video sequel MulanII the better. Lets just focus on the original Disney Mulan and how she truly brought honor to us all.

2. Ariel (The Little Mermaid Franchise)

Yeah, you know that I had to include my favorite Disney Princess. Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve always absolutely ADORED Ariel. I relate to her rebellious nature, since I’ve always had a naturally rebellious side to me. She’s playful, mischievous, adventurous, curious, bubbly, determined, sweet, fiery, and a painfully accurate portrayal of adolescence. She’s reckless, naive, impulsive, stubborn, and headstrong. I love how flawed she is because it makes her feel more real and three-dimensional. I honestly love how relatable she is and even as someone in my late twenties, I still relate to Ariel even to this day. I know the feeling of wanting more out of life and wanting to explore beyond the confines of one's current existence. Ariel wants to learn more about the human world and wants to be a part of it because of her love of learning and her fascination with the human world. I adore just how curious and daring she is. When she sees something that interests her, she pursues it and is just so passionate about it. She’s just so engaging. I also love how on land when she’s can’t talk how adorable she is with her facial expressions and actions. She’s just such a delightful character. She sees what she wants and she goes for it and I love her for that. I honestly get so mad when people say she’s just boy-crazy and threw her life away for a man. Did people not watch the movie? She sang a whole mother-flipping song about how she wanted to be part of the human world long before she ever saw Eric. He was just what finally got things going. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wanting romance because that’s not all she wants. She wants to explore the world and learn. The live-action remake actually made the character even better and considering how much I love the character, that’s saying something. And yeah, the live-action remake is amazing and the best of the live-action remakes (Which I have a video all about on YouTube). This little mermaid is the best Disney Princess and one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time.

Honorable mentions:

Now before I name my number 1 favorite, lets name some honorable mentions. Keep in mind that these aren’t in any particular order. Madellaine from The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Judy Hopps from Zootopia, Elsa from the Frozen franchise, Jasmine from the Aladdin franchise, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jane from Tarzan, Violet from The Incredibles franchise, Jessie from the Toy Story franchise, Kiara from The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, Dory from the Finding Nemo franchise, Vanellope from Wreck-It Ralph, Miss Bianca The Rescuers franchise, and Rapunzel from Tangled.

Melody (The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea)

I mean, is anyone surprised? I’ve already mentioned that she’s tied with Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians as my favorite fictional character of all-time. I absolutely ADORE her! Much like how her mother is an accurate depiction of teenage struggles, Melody is an accurate representation of preteen struggles. She’s awkward around her peers, she’s doesn’t know how to act around people, she’s shy around boys, she feels like a fish out of water (No pun intended), she’s unsure of herself, has a hard time communicating with her parents, and doesn’t make the best decisions. These are all part of growing up and they captured that flawlessly with her. She has the same traits as her mother but she also has her differences that make her feel like her own unique character. Unlike her mother, who is extroverted and confident, Melody is introverted and self-conscious, which makes her feel more relatable to me. I love how they can make her very awkward without having to make it her most defining character trait like with the Disney heroines of the Revival era. She only feels comfortable in her skin when she’s out swimming and she’s told that she can’t go out into the ocean. That’s something many of us can relate to with how we’re comfortable living a certain lifestyle, doing something we love, or being true to ourselves only to be told we can’t for whatever reason. Being a naturally rebellious person with interests that aren’t traditionally masculine, I definitely relate to that. Plus, being someone who always wanted to be a merman, I also have a massive love for the ocean and Melody’s explosive passion and undying love for the sea is just so engaging. But I also love how she also has a lesson to learn, which gives her more of an arc than her mother, though to be fair, Ariel didn’t really need to learn a lesson, King Triton did. But I still love how Melody had to learn her own self-worth and apologized for causing this mess. And instead of choosing between land or sea, she chooses both by breaking down the wall that divided them. She is the bridge that connects the two worlds together. She’s just such an engaging character. Every time I see her on screen, she's just so charming and entertaining. I love her passion, awkwardness, curiosity, mischievousness, playfulness, sweetness, cunning, and just everything about her. Maybe one of these days I’ll make a video all about how mermazing she is. She certainly is a remarkable character that is more than deserving of it.

And those are my top 10 favorite Disney heroines. Are any of my favorites your favorites? Who are your favorites? Let me know. Please like, comment, reblog, and follow me if you haven't already.

[stardust-swan]

How to marry rich?

I am a single woman who would rather marry middle class tbh so I can't really help with marrying a millionaire or anything. If I were going to try marrying rich though, here's what I'd do:

Do a six month legal or medical secretary course. If you're happy with being upper middle class rather than rich-rich, working at law firms or hospitals and doctor's offices are probably the best way of meeting lawyers, doctors and consultants. I've mentioned the story of the Emirati senior doctor who asked to marry me years back based on a picture, and that never would have happened if my mother hadn't known him by working at the hospital with him.

The downside is that the guys who have the most money are usually older and already married, while the ones who are still young and cute and less likely to be taken are probably paying off their student loans and saving up money, and some also realise they hate the job after a couple of years and retrain to become teachers or whatever. If you can find someone young who has their heart set on their career or don't mind an age gap relationship with a wealthier older man then it's a good route though (wouldn't personally recommend an affair with a married man though as you get them how you lose them, but there are exceptions ofc).

Use dating apps near places where rich men hang out. Like five star hotels and restaurants, golf courses, etc. More likely to match with someone wealthy if you're near where the wealthy hang out.

Wouldn't personally recommend this as gambling doesn't always end well, but some women in my city go to casinos trying to meet wealthy men that gamble for fun. If you go into the casinos at evening you'll see a bunch of single women who don't really look like they fit there. And they don't fit there, they're there to meet men.

Work on yourself. If you ever look at rich men's wives, they're always well-spoken, put together, and knowledgeable. You need more than just looks. Pretty faces get boring if you can't hold a conversation. Looks also aren't as paramount as you might think. You need to look attractive obviously, but you don't need to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It's rare to see a rich man with a wife who looks like Adriana Lima. It's more important to be well-groomed and put together with an engaging personality than it is to put all your energy into planning the cosmetic surgery you want because your nose is slightly too wide or your boobs are slightly droopy and you think you need to be the most striking one in the room at all times to have a chance (guarantee you that 99.9% of men don't notice or care about these things). Also obviously you should know how to behave, don't do anything that will embarrass him and make him drop you like a hot potato (like calling him "Daaaadddyyy" or something in front of his friends).

Tbh I'd recommend reading r/marryrich on Reddit. They'd have more resources like books and stuff you should read and you can also ask questions to people who have actually married rich.

Edit: should've have mentioned this, but avoid influencers like Anna Bey. A lot of hypergamy influencers who claim to be giving advice on marrying rich are actually giving sugar baby tips but in a covert way that won't get their pages removed from social media. For example, Anna Bey advises people to hang around in hotel lobbies to meet rich men, but you're not going to meet your future husband by hanging out in his hotel lobby. They'll assume you're a sex worker looking for clients. Just be wary of tips like this that are actually tips for sex workers presented in an innocuous way

[what-if-queen-camilla]

Chapter 33

Sadly just a short one but I wanted to give you an update... hope you'll like it...

30th December 1995

"Do I still have to call the Princes 'Your Royal Highness' now? And what about the Queen Mother? Do I still have to curtsy and say Your Majesty?' Will we see the Queen and Prince Philip, too?", Thea bubbled in the back of the car and Camilla rolled her eyes. After her little girl had overcome the first shock about the news that none other than The Prince of Wales - Sir, as she still called him - was her biological father, she had also begun to realise what that meant concerning other familial connections, that she had two brothers who were Princes, that her grandmother was the Queen, and the Queen Mother, with whom she'd always shared a special sort of friendship as the two of them shared a birthday on August 4th, her great-grandmother. She had also realised very quickly that her godmother "Auntie Anne" really was her actual aunt and Peter and Zara were her cousins, and she obviously had so many questions and things on her little mind that sometimes Camilla didn't know what to say anymore. She just hoped they'd finally get back to some kind of normality in the new year 1996 and, perhaps, the days at Birkhall with all of them would help as well.

Following his statement regarding his acknowledgement of Thea as his child, Charles had privately hired a security service to take care of her and Camilla for the foreseeable future and she had to admit that it did make her feel better, at least more secure and therefore relaxed, not as helpless and frightened anymore, and that was good. The plan was also for Thea to get back to school again after Christmas break and, though there'd be security looking after her, at least until the situation would have calmed down, she hoped for her to be able to go on with her life and her friends as normal as possible. In fact, not even Peter and Zara had security at school, actually, it was a privilege that only the most senior members of the Royal Family had (though Camilla wasn't sure whether "privilege" really was the right expression…), but in their situation, with all of the uncertainty and the hate and attacks she had been suffering, they had decided that it was too risky to send their daughter back to school without any protection, and Charles funded it through his own, private income.

"Mummy???", Thea firmly interrupted her thoughts and Camilla shrugged her shoulders. "We've talked about this, darling.", she reminded her daughter. "You will be a good girl and behave exactly like you've always done unless somebody invites you to do otherwise." That was just what they needed, Thea enthusiastically jumping into the Queen Mother's arms, greeting her "Hi great-granny!", or something, no, no, no. It was best to be as decent, polite and unobtrusive as possible. Laura had already gone up to Scotland together with Peter and some of their cricket friends a few days earlier and they'd all met up there, so it was just the two of them driving all the way to the north and she couldn't wait to be in Charles' arms again soon. They hadn't seen each other until some time before Christmas, they yet had to exchange presents and generally, her heart just ached for him. It had been a hell of a year, especially the last few weeks really had taken their toll on her and she longed for nothing more than some peaceful and quiet hours with the love of her life - and their children. That thought almost made her heart stumble, though she was still a bit anxious about meeting William and Harry after Diana's revelations, but at least they didn't have to hide anymore and she just hoped the boys and Thea would get along and that whatever had happened between their parents wouldn't affect their relationship.

"Good afternoon Mrs Parker Bowles.", one of the Queen Mother's equerries welcomed her charmingly as they finally arrived at Birkhall just before twilight, and bowed deeply, first to her and then to Thea, politely adding: "Good afternoon, Ms Theodora." "Good afternoon, Steve!", the two of them greeted him, almost unisono and laughed. "Her Majesty The Queen Mother is looking forward to welcoming you both in the Drawing room.", he added and for a moment Camilla winced, looking at him insecurely. DearnGod, that had not been announced and she wasn't dressed for such a meeting now, looking all shaggy in her jeans and sweater, her hair and makeup (or rather: the unidentifiable something that was still remaining of it) an absolute mess after the almost 10 hours journey… all that she wanted was to refresh herself and change into some more festive clothes before she'd meet with anyone, let alone Charles' grandmother! The old lady would probably send her away if she saw her like that… Mortifiedly, she followed the equerry inside of the house and through a few rooms until they eventually reached the drawing room, where the Queen Mother was sitting on a chaise lounge, enjoying a slice of cake, a cup of tea and something stronger, and smiled in delight as she caught sight of them. "Your Majesty…", Camilla greeted her, performing a deep curtsy, her eyes fixed on the floor. She felt ashamed about her appearance but, thank goodness, and actually not really surprising, the old lady didn't care at all. "Camilla, my dear, it's so nice to see you!", she cheered, kissing her cheeks, before bending over to Thea, who, like her mother, performed an elegant curtsy in front of the royal and politely greeted her: "Good afternoon, Your Majesty!", which made the old lady laugh. "Good girl, Theodora!", she praised her, appreciatively patting her back. "But I'd say Great-Granny is more fitting now, don't you agree?" Camilla almost got a heart attack as this was basically the scenario she had been afraid of - but the Queen Mother smiled at her so kindly and heartfeltly that it didn't even feel weird or wrong anymore as she warmly pulled the little girl into her arms. Camilla wiped a few tears away as she suddenly felt two strong hands, tightly but tenderly grabbing her shoulders, gently turning her around, pulling her close, before just as sudden, two lips found hers and kissed her so passionately, that she almost felt like fainting. "Darling…!", she gasped breathlessly, looking at him in pure love and astonishment, the Prince's eyes equally filled with adoration for his love. "Darling.", he replied, gently kissing her cheek. "You're home."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

There’s only one thing you need to know about GOP South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem bragging about personally shooting to death her 14 month-old puppy named “Cricket” for being “untrainable” and “worthless.”  She believes telling MAGA voters that she’s willing to cruelly shoot a dog to death will make them support her more. And the most alarming part is that she’s right. Keep in mind we learned that Noem—who is a top contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024—led one of her dogs named “Cricket,” a wirehair pointer, to a gravel pit and shot her because she revealed it her new book. (Below is a photo of a young wirehair pointer.) This wasn’t a story uncovered by a reporter or leaked by someone. Noem intentionally shared these facts with the nation in her new book because she wants us to know this—and she knew what the reaction would be.

For starters, she expected that animal rights groups would denounce her—and they did. For example, Wayne Pacelle, the president of Animal Wellness Action told NPR: "There's no rational and plausible excuse for Noem shooting a juvenile dog for normal puppy-like behavior." And Colleen O'Brien, senior vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), denounced the governor for "punishing her by deciding to personally blow her brains out rather than attempting to train her or find a more responsible guardian."  But Noem also gets that to MAGA, any group that advocates for animals—or decency, for that matter—would be seen as some type of woke organization. That is the backlash she wanted. Plus there is something far more sinister. Noem gets that MAGA loves cruelty. And what is crueler than killing a puppy to show how tough you are to the MAGA scum. (Obviously, if Noem was truly unable to train the dog, she could’ve hired a professional to help her or put this pure breed, expensive dog up for adoption—shooting the dog was about something else.)

[...] The title of Noem’s book, “No Going Back,” is a great way to look at today’s MAGA dominated GOP.  The old Republican Party is dead. After all, even GOP Vice President Dick Cheney expressed regret when in 2006 while quail-hunting, he accidentally shot his friend 78-year-old Harry Whittington.  Three days after the accident, Cheney told the media that shooting his friend—who survived--was “one of the worst days of my life.” Flash forward to 2024 and a potential GOP vice presidential candidate is bragging about shooting her dog to death to show Republican voters she is tough enough to potentially be President one day.  

Noem perhaps included the tale of shooting her dog because she knew Trump does not like these four-legged friends that bring joy to millions.  As Trump’s late wife Ivana wrote in her memoir, “Donald was not a dog fan.” She noted Trump’s hostility to her poodle, “Chappy,” who would “bark at him territorially.” (Studies do note that dogs are a good judge of character so Chappy was right to bark!) That explains why Trump was the first president in 120 years who did not have dog as a pet in the White House, a tradition started by George Washington with his two American foxhounds.  Democratic and Republican Presidents that followed loved their dogs from Abraham Lincoln’s “Fido” to Barack Obama’s “Sunny” and “Bo.” And of course President Biden has a pet dog—although “Commander” has not been the best behaved at times.  But Trump was the exception, even telling his supporters at a 2019 rally that having a pet dog in the White House would feel "a little phony.”

Kristi Noem’s bragging of killing her dog is part of the MAGA Cult’s fetish with cruelty.

[culttvblog]

Number 6 was a Plant: Arrival

You can read the introduction to this series of posts here: https://www.tumblr.com/culttvblog/738540162388213760/number-6-was-a-plant-introduction

I was surprised when reading up for these posts, to find that David Stimpson objects to the theory that Number 6 was a plant in the Village, on the grounds that it makes a nonsense of his resignation (see the introduction linked above). In fact I profoundly disagree with that and believe that the resignation scene makes more, not less, sense if Number 6 is a plant.

The likely scenarios to explain Number 6's planting in the Village would be that there are concerns about it: either that the security of the place designed to keep secrets contained has been breached, it is being spied upon, or about the treatment of the residents. His inspection obviously has to be of the reality of the Village and he needs to go there in such a way that the public face of the Village isn't on display.

But to go there he has to resign, and it also has to be a fully convincing resignation. Whether Number 6 is a senior agent who has made the decision to inspect the Village himself or has been placed there by his superiors, he has to appear to resign.

In fact the idea that Number 6's resignation has all the appearances of a real resignation but isn't one is the best explanation of the resignation sequence, which I have always thought rather theatrical and unconvincing. Seriously, watch the sequence with the assumption in your mind that Number 6 is pretending, and it suddenly makes sense. In fact it's clear that he doesn't only want to appear to resign in a quiet way but wants the rest of the building to know about it as well by shouting and slamming his fist on the desk, and behaving in a way which will have his boss talking about the extraordinary way in which [Name] resigned today and spilled tea everywhere.

So we have the apparent resignation out of the way and Number 6 proceeds with the plans he has been making for a holiday. I would suggest that his holiday plans are not a secret in any way, although they seem superfluous to the plan to get taken to the Village. I would suggest a possible explanation is that he was planning a holiday and everyone knows that so that it would give him a week or two of time when he isn't expected to be at work. The holiday is essentially the cover story for the time he expects to spend in the Village, not realising he won't be able to get out again, or for whatever could happen after he appears to resign.

And so the wheels of his transfer to the Village take place.

I'm going to say something else here, which is obviously a personal opinion and other people may disagree profoundly from this, but looking at Number 6's face I don't think he is at all surprised to have woken up in the Village. In my opinion the look on his face is much more one of jubilation and relief that it's worked. He has obviously not been there before so everything beyond its bare existence is a surprise, but I honestly think he was expecting to find himself in the Village and is pleased to find his pretend resignation has worked.

I would suggest the surprises do start kicking in when he asks the lady at the cafe for help, and everything else is genuinely new to him. I don't think this need militate against the possibility of him being a plant, merely indicate that the Village is, in fact, secret.

For the rest of Arrival, Number 6's experiences divide neatly into discovering about the Village and very firmly indicating that the Village can't keep him there. In fact he says as much to Number 2, and his insistence on their inability to keep hold of him may simply be part of his investigation of Village security, which assuming he is only expecting to be there for the span of a holiday, of course he starts straight away. His actions completely accord with the idea that he is there as a plant to test the Village, as it were, to destruction.

This is actually a very strange way to think of this show, that Number 6's intention isn't to get out, it's to make sure the Village can keep him in. He is on the side of 'them'.

Another thing which this viewing of the show has highlighted for me is how much the Village resembles what would then have been called a cult: it keeps people in, makes them think a particular way, discourages dissension, cuts people off from their old lives, promises them all sorts of things, has a charismatic leader, the members have behaviours and volcabulary not understood by outsiders, the flow of information in and out is very firmly controlled...the Village makes all cult indicators light up like a Christmas tree. I have never thought of it in this light before and this might be another interesting way to think about the show. According to the Oxford Handbook of [as they are now called] New Religious Movements the anti-cult movement started in the mid to late 1960s so could well have been an influence. Unfortunately I have been unable to find out whether this perspective is original to me or whether it has been thought of before, and would be interested to hear in the comments.

In conclusion I believe that far from negating the possibility that Number 6 is a plant, the events of Arrival support the idea, and when seen from this perspective take on a new appearance.

This blog is mirrored at

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Archives from 2013 to September 2023 may be found at culttvblog.blogspot.com and there is an index to the tags used on the Tumblr version at https://www.tumblr.com/culttvblog/729194158177370112/this-blog

[shihalyfie]

Wait wait, WHAT Ken hot take!? 👀

Okay, this is going to be one of my spicier takes here, so please go easy on me ^^ But yes, I do actually believe that the American English dub's take on Ken was arguably more accurate to his original Japanese characterization than the way a lot of the fanbase portrays him, even when they're going off the original Japanese version.

So for context, while the degree and nature of characterization changes in our dub varied from character to character, the part that was most consistently applied was that most of the characters got a lot more outspoken (in terms of criticizing things, speaking their mind, and being sassy or even outright dunking on things). Fundamentally speaking, this is an understandable concept due to cultural differences; anyone who doesn't really have a grasp of Japanese seniority or politeness culture might read the kids as extremely stiff if their dialogue was brought over unaltered.

The part where this posed problems was that our dub overdid it way too much at times, so the kids would just dunk on each other or get really condescending for no good reason, and that often caused quite a bit of damage to character arc integrity or the portrayal of character relationships (or pose issues for characters like Takeru or Hikari, where them not being entirely honest about their feelings is part of the point of their characters). But it's not a fundamental problem at its core to make the kids mouth off or banter a little more; I think Diablomon Strikes Back and Kizuna's dubs did a much better job pulling this off while still staying true to the characters, and I generally consider them my reference for how I'd have been perfectly fine with a lot of things the TV series dub was doing already if they'd only been executed a little differently.

Our Ken was voiced by Derek Stephen Prince, and I suspect they casted him more for “the Digimon Emperor" than they did "Ken". (This happened with a lot of 02 dubs, from what I hear -- the Kaiser having that drastic of a 180 is really that big of a plot twist, so I doubt very many casting directors had enough warning about that. Our Wormmon, voiced by Paul St. Peter, is also a bit too obviously casted and directed under the concept of "evil villain's minion" than the more "pitiful" character he ends up becoming, but he did do his best with what he had.) DSP is an incredible voice actor who adapted to the change very well; he's voiced an absolutely unreal number of completely different roles across the Digimon franchise, including even Veemon in 02, who sounds very distinct from Ken. But since his tone isn't as "soft" as Park Romi's, and because Ken got a certain degree of "sassiness" treatment like everyone else, it's easy to get the impression that our dub's Ken is much harsher while the Japanese version is a soft-spoken kid. That's probably how it seems on the surface, but...

Even in Japanese, even post-turn, Ken was never a saint or anything. Park Romi's delivery may have a bit of a soft timbre to it, but that doesn't preclude Ken from having some choice words or complaining about things when he feels like it -- at most, he's the kind of person who holds his words back until the right time. (In fact, if you look at their speech patterns, his is actually slightly rougher than Takeru's, and he is certainly more likely to be blunt or open about his feelings than Hikari, Takeru, or Iori.) And yes, it's true that our dub made him a lot more vocal, but it's well within the range of necessary localization procedure; his occasional formality would probably be seen as way more stiff in America than it would be in Japan (where he's closer to "well-behaved"), so this level of change is reasonable. There were definitely some hiccups in the first half when they went a little too hard on portraying the Kaiser as more of a composed villain genius rather than a pathetic eleven-year-old throwing a tantrum, but as far as his second-half characterization goes, the dub writers definitely seemed to understand that he was not in a position to harshly criticize or look down on the others when he was trying to patch things up with them, so he actually still comes off as one of the "nicest" kids in the group by virtue of not giving his dialogue the same degree of condescension the others often got.

The problem is, it's unfortunately very common in fandom (in Japanese and English, so this isn't a language-specific problem) to portray Park Romi's Ken as a saintlike doormat who, post-turn, is incapable of doing a single thing wrong, impeccably polite to a fault in all circumstances, and constantly pensive and sad about everything to the point he's completely reliant on other people to snap him out of it. And that's just not the case at all! Throughout the entire latter half of 02, Ken is consistently portrayed as resilient, oftentimes far more put-together and assertive than Daisuke, and still capable of being cold or fierce when the time calls for it (the Kaiser came from somewhere, after all). So even if you do take the dub changes making him ostensibly more aggressive into account, that's still more accurate to the original Japanese portrayal than completely flattening Ken into that kind of saintlike doormat. He chooses to be kind, but the operative word is chooses, and that nuance is present in both versions.

[swbumblebee]

What if Qui-Gon Jinn was not particularly special in his post-mortem abilities?

AKA “Old Ben” and his many Force parents.

They had all watched, their collective Force aura swamped in sadness, grief and longing, as Qui-Gon finally introduced himself to Obi-Wan.

They’d never call him ‘Old Ben’. The fact that he was only 40 years old notwithstanding, this was the boy they’d raised, grown up with, idolised. They remembered him toddling about the gardens, fascinated by the brightly coloured flowers; Getting shy around pretty people and developing awkward crushes. They remembered him standing alone at the head of an army, quietly confident and immeasurably capable. They had vivid memories of him carrying them back to the creche, so steady and strong; of his measured wisdom, and the confidence that Obi-Wan Kenobi would always triumph.

They remembered the mullet.

Nobody named “Old Ben” ever had a mullet.

The man they now, as they always had really, looked to for a light when everything else went dark.

They didn’t catch the murmured words. They were Jedi after all, (even if they were now technically one big Jedi rather than a temple full of Jedi) and eavesdropping was rude. Nobody listened to the sulky mutterings of the presence that was Quinlan Vos.

Their boy was nodding, sitting quietly on the floor whilst he finally, finally after weeks of careful and gentle persuasion, of them all keeping a tight rein on the order’s maverick (“Do not, we repeat do not, come out of the water tank. You’ll give him a cardiac arrest or something”) believed in the presence he saw before him.

They watched once more, pleased, as their missing piece allowed himself to be bullied to his feet, and guided over to the pile of blankets he called a bed.

They could feel Qui-Gon’s bitter relief as he perched next to his former student, his longing to pull the blankets up around his boy and smooth back his hair.

But words were all they had.

Still, as Obi-Wan Kenobi had shown the Galaxy; you could do a lot with words.

---

They’d argued (as much as an incorporeal fusion of spirits could argue) at length over who got to go next.

“I knew him longest, he’ll trust me!”

“He needs someone calm, measured. I will go”

“No offence Master Plo but you’ll make him cry. He needs cheering up, I’ll go!”

“Vos so help me Force-“

“I was the Master of the Order, I should do it”

“Master, we’re dead. I’m not sure seniority applies.”

In the end it was narrowed down to two options; Bant Erin, Obi-Wan’s oldest friend. Sweet natured and kind, she would be the perfect choice.

And Mace Windu.

It turns out seniority does still apply beyond the grave.

---

A small part of Obi-Wan’s subconscious was telling him that it was starting to get a bit awkward.

The transparent blue form of Mace Windu was looking down at him, the welcoming smile quickly turning into a grimace.

“…Obi-Wan?”

No. no no no this was not happening. He didn’t have time to go round the bend he had a child to protect!

He wasn’t sure if it was reasonable to measure sanity on the volume of dead loved ones he was hallucinating, but somehow one seemed saner than two.

Though it turns out he’s insane, and so not a good barometer of these things.

He knew his stare was starting to get very unnerving as his hysterical inner-ramblings reached a fever pitch.

“…Obi-Wan, are you alright?” Imaginary Mace Windu asked, concern and a tiny bit of nervousness showing on his face.

“I’m fine, how are you?” Obi-Wan asked, remembering a solid piece of advice from his formative years; Always fall back upon good manners when in unfamiliar territory Padawan mine.

Well, this was about as unfamiliar as it got.

Imaginary Mace looked at him, utterly baffled for a moment.

“Well…I’m dead, I suppose, is how I am” he answered awkwardly.

“Right. Obviously.” Obi-Wan nodded politely. “My condolences”

There was another awkward silence.

Imaginary Mace tilted his head for a moment, listening for something.

“Well…here I am” he said, spreading his arms a little.

“…yes.”

The other Jedi frowned at Obi-Wan’s strained reply and his act of scrubbing his hands down his face as if to wipe away the image in front of him.

“Qui-Gon didn’t…didn’t mention we were coming?” he asked tentatively.

Obi-Wan shook his head, wordlessly.

The frown on Imaginary Mace turned into a complete scowl as the pieces seemed to fall into place.

“JINN” he bellowed, and Obi-Wan felt it echo in the Force like nothing before.

“He can’t hear you, he’s with Yoda”

Another figure popped into existence next to Mace, and Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes once again as Depa Billaba bowed to him.

“Obi-Wan” she greeted with a grin.

“…hi” He took a deep breath, mentally cursing his absent-minded Master.

“Are you alright?” Depa didn’t stop for a reply as she looked down with him and gestured at him, gently instructing him to get up from the floor. “Oh look you’ve scraped your knee there! Master I knew you’d startle him!” she scolded her former Master.

It felt like he was having an out of body experience as Depa ushered him into a chair (the only chair in the hut), Mace looking on anxiously.

“There we go” Depa soothed as she got him settled “I wish we could make you some tea my friend.” She said disappointedly.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat.

“You ah…you can’t?” he asked, something permeating the haze. Of this whole situation, that seemed by far the most unfair thing.

Mace smiled encouragingly, seemingly happier to be on more binary ground.

“I’m afraid not, we are beings of the Force, like your Master.” He explained, before scowling again. “Who, I would kill if he weren’t already dead,” he growled.

“I’m so sorry Obi-Wan” Depa said, dismayed “We all wanted to come and be with you, but we though Qui-Gon might be best to start with, so as not to overwhelm you”

“Sorry about that” Mace said apologetically.

They sat in silence a moment, Depa and Mace watching him process.

For the first time ever, Obi-Wan had exactly zero thoughts in his head.

He was starting to feel the pressure.

“All?” he tried.

Depa and Mace looked at each other.

“You ah…you said ‘all wanted to come’” he clarified.

Depa nodded happily.

“Yes yes, we’re all there Obi-Wan” she smiled at him

“Any Jedi slain by a Sith, or the machinations of the Sith, is there” Mace explained.

Obi-Wan was having the slightest bit of trouble taking deep breaths. Neither of his companions seemed to have noticed.

“Where?” he asked, only mildly aware that his voice was getting just a little pitchy.

“In the Force, we’re all one in the Force” Depa started again, and then paused a little lost for words.

“We’re all together and we kind of…share our presences” Mace picked up, with difficulty “Everyone who was killed by Palpatine’s evil, everyone from us right down to the littlest initiate, we share one consciousness in the Force.”

Obi-Wan was none the wiser.

Mace waved a hand frustratedly.

“Sorry, Plo explains it better”

“Plo?” Obi-Wan loved Master Plo. He loved all of them. And they were gone.

“Hello Obi-Wan”

“Well, if Plo and Depa get to see him I’m bloody well here too!”

“Hi Obi”

“Obes!”

He could only watch, speechless, as the faces of old friends, comrades, mentors and carers crammed into his hut, all looking at him with unadulterated, unfiltered pleasure and love was the last thing he saw before his scrambled brain decided it’d had enough, and he knew nothing but darkness.

---

It turns out, living with the forms of all your dead teachers, carers and friends was actually rather trying, after a while.

“Oh thank goodness you’re not still drinking that awful caff”

“I like caff – Master Plo please don’t try and lift that���

“Relax Obi dear, we’re incorporeal”

“Can still see things though”

“Vos get out of my fresher!”

“What does this do?”

“Never you mind. No don’t – Ugh. Why don’t some nice, well behaved padawans ever come to see me?”

“They’re not allowed, only those who knew you personally can visit. We thought it might get a bit stressful otherwise.”

“…I can’t imagine.”

Aside from having to adapt his busy routine to accommodate half a dozen fidgety and curious…ghosts (?) poking around his small hut at any one time, another unexpected addition to his (attempted) isolation on Tatooine was the nagging. And Force could they nag! The concentrated worry of many, many, beings with nowhere else to direct their extra energies was powerful.

“Obi-Wan you haven’t drank enough today. Go and check the vaporators”

“Padawan aren’t you going to eat?”

“Listen, that plie of cloth can’t be good for your spine”

“Force! Get some sun block Kenobi or you’re going to look like an old shoe in three months”

“No right, I saw a sunhat he can buy at the market”

It was…weird. He’d always been very self-sufficient, not to mention being the centre of everyone’s attention was difficult, to say the least. But as the months went on, he found himself transitioning from awkward acquiescence to see-sawing between mulishness and good-natured obedience. The stubbornness rising usually when the despair did. But those days were few and far between.

And now, when they did occur (for one can only avoid one’s demons for so long) and he felt like he was drowning in the weight of existence, he could rely on his friends for encouragement, care, and the motivation to carry on.

“If you join us before your time I will KILL you Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now kriffing well eat something!”

---

Of course, when their brother, friend, son, comrade, teacher and last hope did at last join them, there was no nagging or disappointment (or violence). The ultimate Jedi was back in the fold and they were once again complete.

[lifeofkaze]

How to Save a Curse-Breaker

The most happiest of all birthdays to the wildest of all wild children, the most stubborn and self-determined OC I know and protagonist of my favourite coming-of-age story (or really, pretty much any story) out there. Happy Birthday, Artemis Hexley! I love you and please don't change (just maybe be a little less demanding with your lovely creator @the-al-chemist sometimes) 💛💛💛

A/N: Where Ava and Artemis have the utmost pleasure to work together for the first time and Ava has to learn that sometimes knowledge can weigh you down. Literally. Artemis Hexley obviously belongs to the most wonderful of all human beings that is @the-al-chemist

As a Gringotts Curse-Breaker Ava was used to being called many things, treasure hunter or grave robber only being some of them. While there was a morally questionable side to digging up forgotten artefacts and delivering them to the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Ava preferred to think of what she was doing as the preservation of knowledge.  

Her new colleague Artemis Hexley didn’t seem to share that notion. From the moment she had arrived at the Egyptian office it had been clear that research and preparation weren’t Artemis’ strong points; she preferred to deal with situations as they arose. 

Artemis had initially been placed on a different team than Ava - something Ava wasn’t particularly sad about - but when one of their colleagues had to be rushed back to England with mushrooms sprouting from various body openings, the head of the expedition decided that Artemis would be a suitable replacement for the missing member of Ava’s team. 

One Artemis’ first day on the new team they were set to move further into the tomb they had been working on. They made their way through the tunnels Ava knew like the back of her hand at this point until they reached a steep flight of stairs leading further down into the darkness. This part of the tunnel system was yet unexplored and Ava was impatient to uncover its secrets. 

The Curse-Breakers worked quickly and efficiently in clearing the way of hidden obstacles. Ava had to admit that Artemis was surprisingly adept at taking out traps but her lack of care when it came to the more mundane parts of their surroundings was infuriating Ava more with every passing minute. 

“This is a tomb,” she said coolly to Artemis as she passed her. “Try and not paw at anything you see.”

Artemis, who had been looking at an earthen sculpture she had picked up from the floor, furrowed her brows. “Aren’t we here to get the treasure?” 

“No reason to not show some respect.”

“Robbing the dead doesn’t sound respectful to me.”

The authoritative voice of Jonas Croft, the senior Curse-Breaker of their team, stopped Ava’s answer in her tracks. “Campbell, Hexley! What’s going on back there?” 

Ava cast a haughty look at Artemis. “I was telling Artemis how to behave in an excavation site, Sir.”

“Were you, now?” His attention shifted to Artemis and the figurine she was still holding. “What’s that you got there, Hexley?”

“A statue.”

“I can see that it’s a statue. Is it valuable?” When Artemis shrugged, Croft turned to Ava. “Your opinion?”

Reluctantly, Ava took a closer look. “It looks like a decorative idol, nothing more.” 

“Then it’s of no use to us,” Croft decided brusquely. “Put it back where you found it and focus on what matters.” 

“With all due respect, Sir -”

“As far as I remember, Campbell, you’ve been out of training only a year longer than Hexley. I shouldn’t have to remind either of you how to do your job.” 

His tone was final so Ava swallowed her protest and followed Croft, ignoring Artemis as best as she could. When they reached a crossroads from which the path spread in each of the four cardinal directions, the group came to a halt. Croft studied his map in the light of his wand before pointing at the tunnel to his right. 

“That’s the one facing West, the burial chamber should lie at the end of it. Let’s go and get the gold. Not you two,” he said and blocked the way with his arm as Ava and Artemis went to follow the others. “I don’t need two rookies touching everything in sight or fawning over every scratch on the walls. You’re going to stay here and wait for the professionals to come back.” 

“What an oaf,” Ava muttered under her breath after Croft was out of earshot. “He doesn’t know what half the things he carries out of here even are.” 

Artemis, who was casually leaning against the wall, watched Ava with raised eyebrows. “He has a point, though.”

“Excuse me?”

“You do fawn over every scratch in the walls.”

Suddenly acutely aware of the notebooks filled with glyphs she was carrying in the bag slung across her shoulders, Ava narrowed her eyes. 

“Well, it wasn't me groping a potentially harmful object without even wearing gloves either. It’s as if you’re begging to be cursed.”

“I’ve faced worse,” Artemis said flatly. When Ava raised her eyebrows she reached into the pocket of her jacket, producing a set of thin leather gloves and putting them on. “Happy now?” 

Rolling her eyes, Ava turned from Artemis and stepped closer to the wall. Drawing her wand, she carefully inspected the artful symbols carved into the stone; there was something strange about them she couldn’t quite put her finger on yet. Behind her, Artemis suddenly shifted and started in the direction of a side tunnel.

“Where are you going?” Ava called after her.

“Did you see that?” 

“What?”

“There’s a shimmer.”

Artemis vanished in the tunnel and after a moment Ava followed her. When she caught up, she saw that Artemis had found another statue in a recess in the wall, similar to the one she had been looking at before. The statue was standing on a small pedestal inlaid with gold glyphs, gleaming in the light coming from their wands. 

“What’s it with these statues?” Artemis mumbled, weighing the sculpture in her hands. When Ava didn’t answer, she glanced up at her and furrowed her brows. “What? I’m wearing gloves.”

“That’s not it,” Ava shook her head and took the statue from Artemis. Inspecting it more closely, she found an engraved symbol of a sun on the bottom of it. 

“That’s curious,” Ava muttered to herself, “there’s sun symbols around the entrance of the tunnel as well. The sun and the akhet symbol. The akhet means rebirth.” 

Ava looked at the darkness stretching beyond the light of their wands, and then back at the statue in her hands. Her eyes searching the opposite wall, an idea was forming in her mind as she saw a second recess, directly across from the other one. It was missing its statue, however.

“What if the Western chamber was a decoy?” Ava whispered.

“Don’t Egyptian tombs face West?”

“Usually they do. But these glyphs can be read in several ways. The symbol for sunrise and sunset are the same but the context suggests the tomb facing East.” The corners of Ava’s mouth twitched. “It’s written on the walls.” 

Ava had barely finished speaking before Artemis was already on her way to go and get the first statue she had found. Ava felt a rush of excitement upon discovering another sun edged into its base. 

Exchanging glances, Artemis gave a barely perceptible shrug and set the statue down on the abandoned base of the empty recess. As soon as it touched the dusty stone, a faint rumble could be heard and the air stirred with a faint, stuffy breeze. Artemis lost no time and started walking further into the tunnel but was being held back by Ava.

“Have you lost your mind?” she hissed. “We have no idea what might be waiting for us.”

“We won’t know if we don’t look,” came Artemis’ prompt answer.

“We can go and look after making a plan on how to go about it.”

“We can go and deal with what we find when we find it.”

“That’s reckless. Don’t be stupid, Artemis.”

“Fine,” Artemis snapped and brushed Ava’s hand off. “If you’re so clever, go on ahead.”

Giving her a dark look, Ava braced her shoulders and very carefully stepped into the darkness. She progressed slowly, making sure to keep a close eye on the walls, the ceiling, and the ground. She came across several booby traps - both magical and mechanical - and with each deactivated trap, the satisfied smirk on her face grew a little. 

Already being able to see the archway that would lead them into the next chamber, Ava bent down and scooped up a handful of sand. From her open palm she gently blew it into the air, which immediately began to simmer and swirl. While the sand was settling on the ground again, covering the bumps and cracks in the stone like a fine carpet, Ava dispelled the magical barrier and motioned for Artemis to follow her. 

“The way is clear,” she said triumphantly. 

Artemis frowned. “I guess so.”

Eager to see whether or not they had really found the burial chamber, Ava stepped forward and froze when she heard the soft click coming from beneath her foot. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then the tunnel began to tremble and suddenly the ground gave way beneath Ava’s feet. 

Artemis lurched forward, managing to catch hold of Ava’s wrist. Ava desperately clung to her while her feet were dangling above a bottomless abyss. Reaching for Ava’s other hand, Artemis tried dragging her back up over the edge, but it was in vain.

“Your bag!” Artemis called breathlessly, her face twisted with effort. “It’s too heavy!” 

It cost Ava a considerable amount of willpower to free her right hand from Artemis’ grasp and fumble with the clasp of her bag. For a moment she feared she wouldn’t be able to undo it in time; her hand was slipping from Artemis’ grasp and Ava had to fight the panic rising inside her chest. 

Taking a deep breath, she focused and tried again. The clasp came undone and the bag slipped from Ava’s shoulders, falling away into the darkness below. Artemis got hold of Ava’s other hand again and with a grunt of effort she scrambled backwards, pulling Ava from the hole. They fell back onto the dusty floor, breathing heavily.

“Books,” Artemis panted after a breathless moment, “who brings books into a tomb?”

The adrenaline flooding her body made Ava laugh shakily. She was too relieved that Artemis had acted so quickly to even mourn the loss of her notebooks. After all, the most profound knowledge wasn’t of much use when you were too dead to use it. She came to her feet and edged closer to the chasm, holding her still glowing wand above the bottomless pit. Ava shuddered; the ground was too far away to be seen. 

“That was close,” she whispered, still able to feel the dropping sensation in her stomach. “Thank you.”

“What of it,” Artemis said, peering downwards as well. “You’d have done the same.”

“I guess so.”

The two women looked at each other for a moment before Artemis nodded her head into the direction of the archway. Drawing her wand, she conjured a bridge leading over the hole in the ground. “Shall we then?”

***

Jonas Croft was in a bad mood upon returning to the crossroads empty handed. When he exited the tunnel into the small atrium where he had left the two bickering women behind, he was surprised to find Ava and Artemis sitting on the floor in peaceful silence, an assortment of gleaming objects piled up between them. Ava was bowed deeply over a scroll with colourful glyphs while Artemis was inspecting the golden statue of a cat. 

“Hexley, Campbell!” he barked when he advanced on them. “Where in Merlin’s name did you get these artefacts?”

“The burial chamber,” Artemis said and shared a look with Ava. “You walked right past it.”

Croft cast a sharp look between the two women. “You went off without authorisation. You could have been killed, or worse.” 

“Don’t worry, we were perfectly prepared.”

If Croft noticed the slight grin on Artemis’ face he didn’t show it. His eyes fell on the heap of treasure and he sighed. “At least you made it worth our while. I hope you learned something from today.”

Ava opened her mouth to tell him about the East-West decoy and the parts of the scroll she had deciphered so far, but Artemis was faster. Not hiding her grin anymore, she gave Ava a sideway’s glance.

“We did. How to save a Curse-Breaker.” 

[gay-snom]

contextualizing lwj’s coming to terms with his feelings subplot!

i wanna talk about the role of confucianism in this subplot because i think it’s something some western fans might not pick up on. basically, the sociopolitical climate of confucianism in his character arc, and a little bit about his interaction with the public image theme.

disclaimer: i’m not chinese but i do have a double minor in chinese and asian studies and have written a few papers on confucianism.

we’re gonna be talking about the novel bc i feel its a little more in-depth and nuanced than lwj’s “what is black, what is white” monologue in cql. namely the tension and misunderstanding in wwx’s first life and how lwj got his scars. i feel like it’s pretty well accepted that wwx made lwj reconsider his world view, so i’m just gonna expand on it. also i want to point out it's pretty unspoken in most of the text, but lwj is also affected by/used to explore the public image themes, as his image the is ideal confucian scholar.

confucianism is centered around the ideas of how to behave “good” in sociopolitical contexts. basically it boils down to a belief system on how society should be run. if everyone follows confucian beliefs, you will have an ideal society. the main text is the Analects, which you can read here. it’s been around for a few thousand years (like around 200 BCE ish), had a huge revival in the tang dynasty (618-907 CE). it was put on imperial exams, the emperor’s cabinet had confucian scholars, etc. this is just to say confucian values are important to historic society, especially upper-class scholars, which seems to be a role cultivators commonly fill in xianxia. here are some basic tenants:

being a gentleman/scholar/superior man (君子 jūn zǐ) : partly being learned in the arts, literature, music, poetry, etc., mostly behaving righteously and dutifully.

filial piety: usually described as obedience. it's not simply obeying everything elders tell you, it includes doing it with reverence and thankfulness for their sacrifices for you.

leading by example: if leaders/the government is righteous, the people will follow. lwj has his flock of juniors that are all strong cultivators and the lan sect is just generally known for being moral and good.

rites/rituals: a focus on politeness and holding proper ceremonies, sacrifices, and funerals

speech: there’s some great meta about the register he speaks in here, i just want to touch on think carefully before you speak, only speak sincerely, etc.

tldr; lwj is THE perfect gentleman (even his title contains the character suffix 君 -jūn, like lxc. which, while this character is not uncommon for cultivator titles, it wasn’t chosen carelessly either. also not to be confused with 尊 -zūn). seriously, look at almost all of book 10 and you'll see don't do/consume in excess, don't talk during meals, sit only when your mat is straight, etc.

okay, so Why is understanding his feelings for wwx so troublesome?

1.2 "They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion... Filial piety and fraternal submission! - are they not the root of all benevolent actions?"

in other words, people who are filial will never create political tension. so like, morally, wwx should be considered horrible person! he’s not only snubbed the jiang sect. he was a head disciple who undoubtedly had younger students looking up to him. and then he goes and stirs up some huge political issues! he is now a bad role model for the people below him and disrespected the people above him. lwj has an entire image to uphold, he has poured his entire life into following these rules and beliefs, and then wwx comes along. would continuing to be in wwx's life taint lwj? there are some contradicting teachings in regards to interacting with wwx:

15.4: "Do not take counsel with those who follow a different Way"

15.28: "When the multitude hates a person, you must examine them and judge for yourself. The same holds true for someone whom the multitude love."

15.36 "When it comes to being Good, defer to no one, not even your teacher."

this is part of the reason lwj had so much trouble accepting his feelings. he didn’t know how to handle this situation, making him appear distant during/directly after sunshot. if he judges wwx's intentions to be pure, it's then not wrong to be friendly with him. but wwx still is morally wrong by society's standards. now, lwj has to not only figure out his feelings, but also reconcile this with how he still thinks wwx is Not a bad person, despite everything. what if he does get "tainted" by wwx? will it hurt the reputation of his sect? that would be un-filial, right? he spent his whole life memorizing rules that are probably extremely similar to sections in the Analects, and now these mixed messages (coupled with the relatable gay panic) are overwhelming.

onto the next! there’s something unspoken in the scene where wwx discovers why lwj has the whip scars. as other posts have mentioned, lwj taking wwx back to the burial mounds and nursing him is high treason. however, this action is also extremely un-filial. also his entire image is built around being a perfect gentleman, if this were to get out to the public he would lose absolutely everything. he would be just as irreparable as wwx.

“I was worried if those from another sect found you first, WangJi would be considered your accomplice. The best scenario was his name being forever tainted, and the worst was his life being taken away right then. Thus, along with Uncle, we chose thirty three seniors who had always thought highly of WangJi... ”

there’s no way lwj didn’t know what would happen if he did this. obviously as lxc says, if this got out, he would lose basically his entire face. and even though lxc didn’t mention this, it would definitely lose a lot of face for the lan sect as well since lwj is so prominent. the decision about what elders to bring is also notable.

“...As if he knew all along he would be discovered by us, he said that there was nothing to explain, that this was it. Growing up, he had never talked back to Uncle, not even once. But for you, not only did WangJi talk back to him, he even met with his sword the cultivators from the Gusu Lan sect...”

so yeah, he obviously knew they would come for him and what the consequences would be. and he still talked back! that’s already not a good look for the lan sect. but attacking them? totally unforgivable! lwj gives up how he was raised and the importance of filial piety, what he has held on to until this major plot event. since it's basically the biggest "fuck you" to his uncle and his clan, this was not a decision he made lightly. lwj shows them he cares more about wwx and His Own ideas of right and wrong than the sect’s or society’s.

Wei WuXian dug his hands into his hair, “...I-I didn’t know... I really...”

when was the last time wwx was at a loss for words? wwx spends a few paragraphs after this lamenting how he hurt lwj, but he's not unaware of the gravity of what lwj did. it's an underlying assumption from being raised in the culture. i would argue his first instinct is "oh god he gave up what for me?" since those lamenting paragraphs are after lxc finishes speaking.

"But he said... that he could not say with certainty whether what you did was right or wrong..."

this is something thrown around a lot in the Analects, that not even confucius can say for sure what is right or wrong. what better way to show lwj is still a perfect confucian than have him paraphrase confucius himself?

“...WangJi was a model for the disciples when he was young, and a prominent cultivator when he grew up. In his whole life he had been honest and righteous and immaculate--you were the only mistake he made!”

here’s the confirmation that the world and even his family thinks of him as a perfect gentleman, the top tier of society, and it was all thrown away for wwx. this is just so heavy. the mistake thing? thats not only because lwj is fraternizing with an enemy. lxc and the rest of the sect who knew are terrified this will forever corrupt lwj personally, not just publicly. lwj was so devoted to believing this was the right thing to do he offered up everything he had. the gravity of this decision is insane. it’s very obvious that he loves wwx, it’s just that he struggles a lot internally to accept everything that is happening.

as for helping wwx leave after the massacre, is this gentleman-ly of lwj? was it actually in-line with his image? is it more honorable to save someone who is dying, at the cost of your own health, than to look away? isn't looking away a form of resentment? i wasn't able to find a specific passage about bystander-ness, but personally i think it qualifies as "bad intentions." there is also this passage for what it's worth, originally it was about government suppression:

12.19: "...What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?" Confucius replied, "...why should you use killing at all?..."

lwj is always more actions than words, and he was not fucking around. his core beliefs really haven't changed, and remain very strong throughout his life. he is still righteous enough to accept his punishment, graceful enough to search for wwx's body since there was no one else to do the funeral rites (10.22/10.15), caring enough to take in a-yuan, upright enough to still spend his years going where the chaos is.

just with this one action, the audience knows he has come to terms with realizing that authority isn't always just, and neither is the public opinion/opinion of other gentlemen. he has reconciled. this is him standing for what he believes is right. this is his devotion. this is his own choice. just. poetic cinema...

anyway that's it for my first meta post! i would love to hear your thoughts, feelings, opinions, discussions, other meta ideas, whatever! thank u for reading! <3