#she makes so many bad decisions but they were influenced by someone else

[uh-thatsquestionable]

90% of sophie’s bad decisions were not wholly her decisions at all

stop bullying her for things that were

✨not✨

✨her✨

✨fault✨

[babymetaldoll]

"Cowboy take me away" (Spencer Reid x fem!reader)

Part of the "We are not gonna make it" writing challenge @aperrywilliams and I are hosting during October.

Event Masterlist - Main Masterlist

Summary: After quitting the BAU, Spencer decides to follow his heart and become a cowboy... with your help.

Word count: 2.773

Warnings: None

Leaving the FBI after over 15 years as an SSA hadn’t been easy. But once the decision had been taken and his last day was finished, Spencer felt better than ever. He needed a fresh start. No one could question him about it. Prentiss knew it, Garcia knew it. Even Alvez. His life had turned too dark and painful working with the Bureau. There had to be something better out there, for him, a better way to live.

Besides, there was something he didn’t share with anyone. Something that had influenced his decision to quit. After his teammate (Y/N) had left the BAU, Spencer had been left with an emptiness in his soul that nothing could fill. She was his best friend, his confidant. The platonic love interest he never persuaded ‘cause time had never been right. She had joined the team and started dating someone else. Then Spencer had fallen for Maeve. Then so many bad things happened and he was left grieving for so long.

And then she was gone, claiming she needed a fresh start. The BAU can be too much to deal with, no one could ever argue that.

Now it was time for him to have a new start. Spencer didn’t have anything in mind if he was being deeply honest. He just didn’t want to spend his life catching serial killers anymore. It had been enough of hurt, pain, and fear.

Spencer wanted to do something fun and exciting. Baking? No, he wasn’t really good at the kitchen. He could learn, of course, and he wouldn’t mind the early working hours. But it didn’t feel right. Teaching? Everyone thought that would be the obvious path to follow. Spencer was made to be a teacher. Georgetown would be glad to welcome him as head professor. But his soul wasn’t set on that field either. Maybe not at that moment.

As he stared at the ceiling, lying on the couch of his living room, only one thing kept coming back to Spencer’s head: (Y/N). She had sent her a letter a few months before telling him all about the slow life she was enjoying living in the countryside. It had been three years since her departure, three years since he last saw her, and though they still called and sent long letters to each other, he hadn’t visited.

- “You are welcome on my farm anytime you want.”- she had written. He didn’t make that up (he checked the letter, just to make sure) and somehow, the fresh air from the countryside sounded like something that could help him decide what to do with his life. A change of scenario.

Yeah, Spencer was in denial about him missing her that much. he had locked his feelings and his hopes to be with someone many years before.

Just six days after his last day in the FBI, Spencer found himself on a solo road trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. He could scratch that adventure from his bucket list. It was empowering to be alone on the road, behind the wheel of his car, on his way to what could be his future.

Spencer dreamed about being a cowboy when he was a kid, at least for a brief amount of time, before people convinced him he was meant for great things. He had even confessed his childhood dream to JJ one time in the jet on their way back home from a case.

Maybe it was time to connect with his inner child like his therapist had once told him. Stop doing what people told him was right for him and just doing what he wanted to do.

It was time Spencer did whatever Spencer felt like doing. And that day, he felt like driving seven hours to see (Y/N) and hang with her on her little farm. All he needed were a few snacks for the road and an audiobook to keep him company.

- “I can’t believe you are actually here!”- (Y/N) was static. She ran from the front porch of her house to the car and wrapped her arms around Spencer’s neck, nearly choking him.

- “H.. hi, hey”- he mumbled, absolutely overwhelmed by her presence. Her smell, her laugh, the warmth from her body. It was like three years hadn’t passed by, and they were back at the BAU, two fools pretending not to be in love.

- “I made you dinner! You must be starving.”- Spencer didn’t argue with her words, mostly ‘cause they were right, but also ‘cos soon he realized he still would do anything she asked him to. Just like three years ago.

She helped him with his bags and invited him to her little house. She had a lovely farm just outside town. Her house was so warm and cozy, that Spencer felt he was part of a fairy tale.

- “I was so happy when you called. I still can’t believe you quit!”- she murmured the last part as she stared at him from the other side of her couch. They were sharing a cup of tea after dinner, catching up and just enjoying each other’s presence.

- “It was about time I changed my life. Just like you did.”- he replied and smiled at her.- “Looks like you’ve been doing alright.”

- “I’m right on track to become the town’s crazy spinster.”- she joked, chuckling.- “I live alone, talk with my animals, and only go to town when it’s absolutely needed.”

- “How many animals do you have?”

- “Two cows, two horses, three dogs, two cats, some chickens.”- she replied proudly. - “They are my best friends.”

- “I can’t wait to meet all of your best friends.”- Spencer answered and finished his tea.

- “They are gonna love you.”

They just stared at each other in silence, smiling and blushing, until it started being awkward. (Y/N) finally stood up and offered to walk him to his bedroom, and kept talking about how tiring his trip must have been.

- “Seven hours behind the wheel. That’s a lot of time driving.”- she said as she walked him upstairs to the guest room.- “You need to rest. Tomorrow I’ll show you around and you’ll have to keep me around the farm.”

- “Looking forward to it.”- Spencer answered and stood outside his room looking at her. None of them said a word for a few seconds until she sighed and took a step back.

It felt like a flashback. One she didn’t want to have. Being on the verge of confessing her feelings, but letting time and life pass her by instead.

It had been the main reason why she had taken a step aside from the bureau. Quitting a very successful career only because the man she loved didn’t seem to care about her. Or more likely, didn’t seem to have the guts to love her.

Chemistry was there, sparks were there. But it was always bad timing with Spencer. And she had moved to the middle of nowhere just to start fresh, away from him.

- “Good night, Spencer.”- she whispered and cut him one last sad smile.

- “Good night (Y/N). It’s really nice being here with you. Thank you for having me.”

- “Anytime.”- she answers and makes a short pause, still smiling at him.- “I missed you.”

She didn’t want to say it, but words slipped from her lips, betraying her at the last second.

- “Me too.”- he replied not even thinking about his answer.- “I’ve missed you more than I actually told you on the phone.”

- “You never said you missed me on the phone”- (Y/N) raised an eyebrow and Spencer blushed. Yet, he didn't move or say a word. And so, she took a step backward and waved.

- “You are tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”

And just like that, she was gone.

Spencer had no idea what was wrong, but he knew something wasn’t right. He kept tossing and turning in his bed, and though he was exhausted when he got ready for bed, now he couldn’t close an eye.

Why? What was happening? What was wrong with him? Was it the deep silence outside his window? Being in the countryside was a huge change from his downtown Washington apartment and all the city noise that came with it.

But no, that wasn’t it. The sound of the wind between the leaves outside his window was relaxing. Then why was he awake at two in the morning?

Was it because he was just a wall away from (Y/N)? It surely felt like it. How could he sleep when a part of his brain couldn’t stop thinking about it? How she was sleeping safe and sound so close yet so far away from him.

Did he want to feel her close? Absolutely! Did he wonder what it would be like to hold her tight? Yes! Was he doing anything about it? Of course not! Because that was Spencer’s problem. Too much thinking and too little action.

He would be a lousy cowboy. Or at least that was what he told himself before closing his eyes, defeated.

The following morning, Spencer woke up to (Y/N)’s singing in the kitchen. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but her voice he recognized in a second. The smell of bacon and eggs pushed him out of bed in a second. He quickly put on a sweater and a pair of pants and walked to the kitchen quietly.

- “Mathilda, you have no idea what you are saying.”- he heard (Y/N) talking and froze. Who was in the kitchen with her? There was no reply (not that could hear at least) but (Y/N) kept talking.

- “No girl. I am not doing that. You are the worst adviser on this whole farm. I swear. Now I am not even sure you should meet Spencer.”

- “Who shouldn’t I meet?”- Spencer asked and smiled as he set foot in the kitchen, taking a look around. (Y/N) turned to him and just smiled, busted.

There was silence in the room. A pause as Spencer realized what was happening.

- “Wait, that’s a cow?”- Reid raised an eyebrow as he stared at the animal sticking its head from the back door like he was the only one who could see it.

- “It is, Spencer. Her name is Mathilda. What’s wrong with that?”- (Y/N) questioned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

- “What’s wrong? It’s in your kitchen!”

- “Yeah, she likes keeping me company while I have breakfast every morning. Sometimes I think she doesn't want me to be lonely.”

- “A cow?”- Spencer questioned one more time and stared at (Y/N) waiting for a different answer. As if she could give him one.

- “Yes, a cow. Mathilda, the cow. Here Tilly, have some carrots”- the young woman walked toward the animal and

- “Shit, (Y/N)”- he chuckled and stared at the scene.- “I love you so much.”

The sound of the ceramic bowl crashing against the floor was the only sound in the room for a few seconds. (Y/N) had turned to stare at Spencer as soon as she heard him saying that, dropping the bowl with carrots, and Reid had frozen in the spot at that very same moment. Eyes wide open, like deer in front of a car, waiting for the imminent crash.

- “What was that?”- (Y/N) whispered, trying to keep calm.

- “N… no, nothing.”- stuttering didn’t help Spencer’s at all.

- “Are you really gonna pretend you didn’t say it?”- she crossed her arms on her chest and held her eyes on his as much as she could. It was now or never. Probably it was the only real chance they had ever had to deal with their feelings in an honest way.

Of course, it would start on a random morning when none of them was prepared.

- “We’ve waltzed around this topic for long enough, Spencer. It’s time we deal with it.”- (Y/N)’s voice was calmed, in contrast with her heart, racing inside her chest. But Spencer still didn’t say a word.

- “I love you too, you know?”- she added, in an attempt to calm him down, ‘cause somehow it seemed like he was about to have a panic attack.

- “I’ve been in love with you ever since I met you, Spencer. It just never felt like…”

- “It was the right time.”- he murmured but still didn’t move. (Y/N) nodded and relaxed her shoulder a little bit.

That was not how she had imagined the whole situation would be. She had had a lot of years to build the scenario in her head. In a perfect world, Spencer would have knocked at her door at midnight, looking like a madman, confessing he couldn’t live without her anymore, telling her he was desperate, that he would do anything and everything to be with her. That he had always loved her, no one else. Just her. Then, he would hold her in his arms and take her upstairs to her room, to give her the most amazing night she had ever lived.

Instead, she got a cold morning, in her kitchen, confessing by accident, in front of a cow.

- “I… I feel the same way.”- Spencer managed to mumble, and though he was sure he was about to faint or have a stroke (the symptoms were incredibly similar and he couldn’t stop listing them in his head) he felt this was what he had to do, once for all.

None of them moved for a few more minutes. They had no idea what to do next. Until Mathilda mooed from the kitchen door.

- “Yeah, Tilly, you are right.”- Spencer replied and walked the three steps that kept him from (Y/N), cupping her cheeks with both hands and simply kissing her.

He kissed her like a man starved. Like he had dreamed of doing for long enough (longer than he dared to admit). He only stopped to gasp for breath and to look at her reaction. (Y/N)’s eyes remained closed for a few more seconds, as Spencer rested his forehead against hers.

- “I love you.”- he whispered and kissed her lips one more time, a little softer than before, and yet with so much love and passion, (Y/N) felt her knees shake for a second.

- “I love you too.”- she managed to reply and finally looked at him.

- “Good… ‘cos I really wanna stay here and be with you for a while.”

- “Stay forever.”- she whispered and kissed him one-third time, biting his lower lip and hearing the most delicious groan coming from Spencer Walter Reid.

Yes, she could live like this for the rest of her life.

Mathilda's mooing interrupted them. They slowly moved apart and stared at each other, smiling and blushing.

- “I’m gonna get her more carrots before she gets upset.”- (Y/N) whispered and walked to the fridge.

- “I’ll clean the floor. I don’t want you or Mathilda to get hurt.”- Spencer announced and looked for a broom to swipe the kitchen. They remained quiet, both Reid and (Y/N), for a few minutes. (Y/N) pointed out the place where she kept the broom and talked to Mathilda about their upcoming activities.

- “Yes, eat your veggies ‘cos you’ll need strength to keep up with me today.”- Spencer heard her, feeling his heart bursting in his chest.- “We are going to show Spencer the farm. Do you think he’ll like the chicks? They are a special bunch, aren’t they? Then we have to visit the local market ‘cos we are running out of a few things, so you’ll stay in charge of the farm. I trust you.”

It was the way she talked to the cow that made Spencer feel so in love, so warm and so comfortable, that before she could notice, he had held her in his arms, spun her around, and kissed the top of her nose.

- “Woah cowboy!”- she teased.- “Breakfast is almost ready, and you also need to eat to be strong for today’s agenda.”

- “I heard is a very busy day.”

- “You’ll manage”- she teased and smiled at him as she kissed him just on the lips.- “You know, considering it’s your first day as a cowboy, I think you did great.”

- “Will I be a good cowboy then?”- Spencer raised an eyebrow and waited for her answer. She sighed and fully kissed him one more time before she gave her verdict.

- “The best.” 

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Hi! thoughts on Alicole? I won’t lie not a fan + it’s character assassination to make Alicent a hypocrite in regards to Rhaenyra. I will still be an Alicent fan after but c’mon we know why that scene was added and it was not to benefit the Green faction.

To be honest anon, it doesn't bother me that much? At least I'm willing to see how it plays out. I can see a lot of reasons why Alicent, who was a child bride at 14 and who has never experienced consensual or enjoyable sex, might turn to Cole now that she is a widow. As someone who was primarily a book reader first, show enjoyer second, I was not as attached to Rhaenicent as a ship as some people were, so that probably influences my view. That's a relationship I always viewed as something that would always remain subtextual, and Alicole happening doesn't influence my feelings about that. Alicent has not really explored her sexuality at all, she sort of shut it down at age 14, and it makes sense to me that she might have this period of awakening now that she is free from Viserys. I'm certain that she and Cole are going to have a lot of guilt about it, and that it will probably drive conflict within the green faction going forward, and that Olivia Cooke will act her heart out. It's sure to be messy and for that reason I'll give it a chance.

As for hypocrisy, just keep in mind, being a hypocrite doesn't make a person wrong! Hypocrites are annoying, but arguing that someone is a hypocrite is an attack on the person making the argument, not the argument itself. If I am cheating on my spouse and tell you cheating on your spouse is bad and you shouldn't do it, I'm a hypocrite, but I'm not wrong about cheating on your spouse. And besides, team black fans have been saying since season 1 ended that Rhaenyra should be able to sleep with whoever she wants even while married to Laenor, so what is the problem with Alicent sleeping with someone consensually in her widowhood? If it should be a problem for anyone it should be a problem for Cole, who is breaking his vows. Alicent also isn't putting illegitimate children in the line of succession, which is the actual problem with Rhaenyra's affair with Harwin, not the sex itself. And honestly, hypocrisy is really the least of anyone's problems in the Dance. We're getting to the part of the Dance where small children get murdered, cities get razed, and hundreds of women are carted off by reavers, among other atrocities. Hypocrisy is the least of anyone's problems.

I'll also say this. One of the few early criticisms of S2 is that it seems like team green has most of the juicy storylines and more complex characters, and team black's storyline is kind of bland by comparison. Now, fans of the greens have been saying this for two years now, and mostly agreeing that it's a good thing. I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm watching a show, above all I want to watch quality television. Of course, I want team green to be presented fairly, but I don't think watching with mind to how many discourse points you'll have to cede to team black or vice versa is really going to be a satisfying or enjoyable way of approaching the show. So watch the episodes and decide if the decisions are in-character, serve the narrative, make sense, and improve upon the source material, rather than judging based on whether or not you'll have to fight with clowns online who will call Alicent a hypocrite.

[fuckmeyer]

Jasper as a character is so interesting because he ends up a Confederate because he can't actually empathise with the slaves and because he simply accepts cruelty around him, and then when he becomes a vampire he literally can't ignore others suffering because it hurts him, but even decades after he becomes a Vegetarian he still can't get a hang of it partially because he still can't see humans as *people*. Idk there's smth to be said about him becoming a vampire because of his own cruelty and then being eternally in horrific pain because of said cruelty that fucks.

Jasper's whole life is a curse & i love to see it

here we have a Confederate supposedly so empathetic that he acquired a "gift"... yet not so empathetic as to recognize he was fighting for the enslavement of an entire race. despite seeing the consequences of slavery literally every day. now, the man who spent his last human days denying the humanity in others is forced to spend his immortal life being slapped in the face with their emotions. forever. hueeueueueu-

yeah, i would call that "gift" a curse, actually.

if Twilight weren't a horror story, we might see a discussion between Jasper/Bella about how immortality forces you to confront the darker side of your nature (e.g. "there will come a day when the societal beliefs imbued unto you leaves you standing on the wrong side of history"), & Jasper's journey with finding love & humanity. OR, y'know, he could've just had ONE (1) line where he says "yeah i'm not proud of my service." simply, if Twilight weren't a horror, Jasper could see the error of his ways & change for the better.

HOWEVER. Twilight vampires are "mentally frozen" when they turn, so Jasper is likely still a racist who does not regret his service. no matter how many times he is confronted with his cruelty, he won't change. meaning whatever life he chooses, his gift dooms him.

wow! eternal curse!

we see evidence of this frozen mental state in his decision to go vegetarian. he doesn't switch bc he feels bad about killing humans:

"I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them. [...] You've experienced the way I can manipulate the emotions around myself, Bella, but I wonder if you realize how the feelings in a room affect me." (Eclipse, Ch 13)

note the dehumanizing term "prey" & the focus on himself. he laments not that the human lives he's taking have value but that their dying moments harsh his vibe.

the irony! trapped as an empath while never possessing the ability to be an empath! CURSE CURSE C-

herein lies a bigger, juicier curse: Jasper is, himself, (hot take) enslaved in the sense that he will never know freedom, philosophically speaking, due to the choices he made in life. the series tries to paint him as a master tactician & competent leader; fanon often paints him as a free-thinking amoral black sheep. in reality, he simply obeys the commands of higher authorities & abides by their worldview regardless of how toxic it is to himself or others.

in the beginning, he had María.

he entered the Southern Vampire Wars not by his own volition but stayed because he was content not having a choice. however one feels about María, the fact of the matter is 1) as a newborn he was stronger, bigger, & faster than her & could have run away or overpowered her, 2) had the "gift" to identify emotions & could KNOW when/if she was malicious or manipulating him, & 3) could have escaped by influencing her emotions to make her disinterested in him. at any time in the 100 years they were together, he could have left. he talks about never knowing a life outside the war & discovering "options I'd never dreamed I had." ok???? run 100 miles in any direction & you would have seen a life outside of war. BOI-

instead, he took comfort in being submissive & adopting someone else's ideology. not only did it remind him of his past, but it meant he had no need to reflect on his actions or beliefs. he prefers others dictate his worldview & order him around even if it means being unhappy. he only left because he was going to be assassinated, & even then, it wasn't until someone else told him another life was possible that he "realized" another life was possible.

notably, the period where he's most free— living with Peter & Charlotte— is his rock-bottom where "the depression got worse." but, again, not because he realized the value of human life: "I was so wearied by killing [...] even mere humans."

then he meets Alice.

Alice, who has visions of being vegetarian & converts him so they can live with the Cullens. Alice, who dictates how her family should live their lives to the point where she manipulates them. Alice, who goes so far as to dress the Cullens, who orders Jasper to wait in the car while she & Bella go shopping, who Jasper refers to as "truly [...] one frightening little monster" because for all his experience she can still beat him in combat.

his eternal soulmate is authority.

despite being unhappy with his vegetarian life, as it makes him feel weak & coddled & a liability to everyone around him, he follows the lifestyle because Alice tells him to.

then there's the Volturi, another authoritative body. "We owe the Volturi for our present way of life," says acclaimed bootlicker Jasper Hale, who in the same moment shudders at the atrocities they committed, yet strangely sees no other way for a governing body to keep the peace... so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

but, since Carlisle outranks the Volturi as an authoritative figure in that he more closely aligns with Jasper's new worldview, Jasper sees no problem deposing the vampiric governing body if it means his sister-in-law of like 2 months can keep her demonic spawn. so i guess we don't really owe the Volturi that much

to his credit, we see glimmers of him questioning his leaders: 1) his decision to leave Maria, 2) his considering switching diets to defeat Victoria, & 3) going against the Volturi. but, again, these decisions are all just a result of his self-preservation & submitting to the higher authority du jour.

in the end, he has the perfect storm of conditions that would allow him to escape the prison he's created, to find freedom & to love humanity unconditionally... but he won't. Jasper's ultimate curse is that regardless of whether he realizes the enslavement of his own self, he will never leave his cage because it's cozy & easy & allows him to never think for himself.

AAAANYWAY Jasper's life sucks & he's trapped in an eternal prison of his own making. lol

[theborzoiarebackintown]

Let me tell you guys the story of Vex.

I have adored her father from the moment I met him when he was 10 months old and he came and stuck his entire head into my purse looking for treats at my first borzoi national. I adored him even more when I saw him again a year later and he was developing into an exceptional male. He was my first choice as a stud for Margo, but I will not be breeding her, so that’s moot. Even after making the decision to pull Margo from the breeding gene pool, I remained obsessed with Varus. I’ve had the opportunity to really get to know him over the years and he is a wonderful dog on so many levels.

I first saw her mother in 2021 when she was being campaigned (and finished the year as #5 AKC borzoi), but didn’t meet her and fall in love with her for another year. She is a typical borzoi bitch, one who doesn’t give you the time of day until she decides you’re worth her time. Thankfully she very quickly warmed up to me, and she’s my precious Leisel weisel and we love each other and it’s gross. She’s one of the sweetest borzoi I’ve ever met. It helps that she’s also gorgeous and almost perfect structurally.

When I decided I wouldn’t be breeding Margo, the search was on for another hopeful foundation bitch. My best friend and breeding partner was planning this breeding for awhile, and I knew it would be exactly what I was looking for in regard to pedigree, structure, and temperament.

I was given the immense privilege of helping with the whelping, and it was a magical (albeit stressful and sometimes scary) experience. All puppies were born at over a lb, which is very large! Most borzoi are born in the range of 11-16oz, Vex was the smallest at 16.2 and Riddick the largest at 21.

With 8 puppies you have to be very vigilant everyone is getting enough colostrum and then milk to keep healthy and gaining. The first week is pretty scary, everyone can be born healthy but then take a bad turn in the blink of an eye.

Even though Vex was a relatively large puppy, since she was the smallest we were keeping an extra close eye on her. And you guys. This puppy. She was so quietly tenacious about eating. She didn’t yell or fight about it, just determinedly pushed her way to a nipple and DID NOT let it go. She quickly got to the middle of the pack weight wise, but it was too late for me. I was absolutely smitten.

With my priorities though, I knew I couldn’t let an emotional tie or “gut feeling” influence my decision. I wanted the best bitch I could get as the potential beginning of my breeding program. I had I long list of wants and needs and wasn’t going to settle for anything mediocre, no matter how much I loved a puppy on an emotional level. I didn’t tell my friend about loving vex, as I didn’t want to influence her thinking or decision making as she’s growing these puppies and evaluating their potential.

We get to about six weeks and really start discussing picks. My gut feeling about Vex had not diminished, I knew she was going to be special. I didn’t know if she was going to be special for me or someone else, but she was going to be special. My friend reveals to me she’s between maroon collar girl (vex) and pink collar girl (Violette) for me, but hasn’t decided.

After some very lengthy discussions on their differences structurally, and how each one was meeting my list of priorities, I decide to tell my friend I want Vex. She was only not ticking one box for me, but was ticking the huge additional box of gut feeling and emotional tie. The decision was also much easier knowing I would be co-owning my friend’s keeper(s) as well.

That one box she wasn’t ticking is developing a lot better than either of us expected, and I’m so beyond happy with our decision. She’s an actual clone of her mother with a a couple traits from her father. She’s elegant and curvy and unbelievably gorgeous. I won’t get into the structure discussion here but I’ll just say she’s really lovely overall. No dog is perfect and there will always be something to improve of course, but she’s not far from my absolute ideal borzoi. (With the caveat she’s a baby and nothing is set in stone until 3-4 with bitches)

This puppy has had my heart from the day she was born, and I just know the journey we’re about to go on is going to be amazing!!!

[woso-dreamzzz]

hate exam szn. i was late to the fateful jenni agenda day 🥲

i didn’t even realize the summary for alexia’s version was you come home and so when i read jenni’s summary—you go home—my stomach actually dropped. was like damn shots fired, feeling bad for alexia but yk she made her bed (unknowingly of course… but still)

bambi being strong and weak against alexia and feeling suffocated when she hugged her? calling out to her only to GIVE HER BACK THE TRAIN? spain without the s.

the (sort of) putellas erasure and feeling content at the thought of just being a hermoso actually hurts 😭 i’ve lowkey wanted this outcome the entire series and now that it’s here i’m sobbing. getting the “worst traits” from alexia and thinking she’d have let bambi stay if she were good at football oh my. jenni having always supported bambi’s interest in ballet feels right though. do you think jenni ever posts about it (perhaps not bambi’s face specifically, more so things related to bambi and to ballet) with so much pride and it gets back to alexia like a slap to the face? or even eli/alba visiting in mexico to watch a big recital and eli’s posts are more private so there are just videos on top of videos of bambi dancing—how does alexia react to all of this? alexia makes the decision that jenni’s better for bambi, but do you ever think she hates that fact? does it ever frost her relationship with jenni?

i was also wondering how olga reacts to bambi leaving. does this mean there’s never a true relationship between the two? bambi wouldn’t get a lot of time with alexia so i feel like alexia would inadvertently push olga to the side when bambi’s here. is olga just jaume’s mother? do you think bambi ever reflects on the fact that the addition of olga into bambi’s life was definitely a turning point? (so many questions omg… sorry) does jenni ever speak about olga and alexia in a bitter sense? does alba ever confront olga as well?

i hope that bambi’s a little more expressive of her feelings with jenni in this alternate outcome. the “so’s mine” and no one hears… the guinea pig comment too. bambi i’m getting you out of all the pain you’ve ever endured. i hope that she’s able to (in both outcomes) overcome this fear of speaking up for herself… because she won’t be able to realize that none of this was her fault if she doesn’t express she feels this way 🥲

also: holy shit. the mami never wanted you to you think mami is special to you know she’ll be the best mami in the world to jaume too LASHED ME W SO MUCH PAIN. SPAIN WITHOUT THE S. bambi’s always held alexia to the highest regard and despite her experiences alexia is never hated/despised. this might be a result of unreliable narrating given bambi’s reflection of her family and “how things are” are most definitely influenced by how she feels… but bambi thinking she was lucky alexia loved her ENOUGH to look after her until someone else could. NOT EVEN CARE FOR HER. look after. pain. her reflection of jenni always having loved her cements my feelings towards my internal jenni/alexia debate. (it’s always favoured jenni) of course alexia never meant for this to happen… “this” meaning bambi (from the beginning she’s faced difficulty on if she even wanted to go through with the pregnancy) but also this as in what’s occurred to bambi in general. to me though, alexia had full autonomy to end the pregnancy. she chose to have bambi. to me that signifies consenting to take on the responsibilities of a parent, and alexia failed that. though people make mistakes… this was dragged on and obviously has long-lasting consequences and haunts not just her, but bambi too. jenni’s constant and unwavering love for bambi hopefully will mend this trauma and heal her from the pain she’s been put through at such a young age

honestly after all this, even if i feel for alexia and we see how happy she is to get bambi back… we see more of how affected bambi’s been in this situation—and if we think about it, this is how bambi feels when she’s not forcing herself to accept alexia’s love especially when it feels so foreign. it matters that alexia tried but i think that train being broken was symbolic of her relationship with bambi… even when olga mended it it’d never be enough—it’s broken now and bambi hands back the new train (the one that should’ve been her birthday present) and to me that feels like bambi passing on this sort of responsibility to alexia with regard to jaume. this is a new train (a new child) and bambi wishes for alexia to take care of it and not break it the way she broke bambi.

still crying though. i love this series. thank you for always choosing the most painful words and sharing such a nuanced story <3 sorry for all the long rambles! there should probably be a feature to hide my asks bc i feel like it must be annoying have to scroll through it if you don’t want to read it 😭 you are the best though and everything you write is always a pleasure to read <33333

ps. princesse’s “mapi who doesn’t play football” HC is my most favourite. mapi’s the most supportive tattoo-acquiring, stray cat feeding girlfriend in the world and ingrid deserves nothing less

another ps. the first time i met my youngest sibling i lifted the blanket and got punched in the nose too. cub i love u <3

Long anon! I missed you! 😘

Bambi giving Alexia back the train was being planned for so long. It was always going to happen. It was just a matter of time that I put it in somewhere.

Jenni definitely posts about Bambi. She's such a proud Mama. She's careful with it though. None of the pics on her actual account fully show Bambi's face but she'll show Bambi's face on her story. There's countless photos of Bambi showing off her new ballet shoes (and then her pointe shoes when she's old enough to have them) and there's so many of the back of Bambi's head surrounded by her trains.

Eli definitely has more freedom in posting about Bambi because her account is private. She adores Bambi and practically all of her recitals end up on Eli's account, where Alexia usually gets her unfiltered information about Bambi from.

Olga and Bambi only really have a foundation of a relationship, the one that was made in the hospital, and it kind of stays that way. It develops a little bit as Bambi gets older but not much. Olga is mainly Jaume's mama and Alexia's partner. As Bambi grows up, she definitely comes to understand that her life changed the day that Alexia and Olga sat her down to talk about giving her a sibling.

Jenni doesn't really like to talk about Alexia and Olga to Bambi. She doesn't want to remind Bambi of them because she knows she's going to bitter about them so she just doesn't talk about them. Alba doesn't really confront Olga about anything. Her main job was getting Bambi out of that situation and she's done that now. She does keep a careful watch for the same warning signs for Jaume just in case.

Also about the train symbolism. The Bambi Train was ceramic. It looks strong but it's actually so fragile (Alexia dropped it and it completely shattered) while the Jaume Train is a proper model train. It's actually strong and if someone drops it, there's not going to be a lot of damage. It kind of signifies Alexia as a parent. She got a lot wrong with Bambi and she knows that but in the end, she ended up shattering the train (she broke their relationship). But with Jaume's train (and his and Alexia's relationship now and in the future) has stronger foundations and can take a few mistakes along the way without ruining it. Alexia has changed as a parent and giving Bambi to Jenni makes her want to be the best parent she can be to Jaume so neither of her kids have to suffer again.

I love reading your long rambles and I was so excited this morning to wake up and see you in my inbox again! I've got a few more parts of Injured stocked up with the first appearance of teen!Bambi that I'm so excited about!

[prsk-krow]

oh, mb!! may i have [r]omantic yandere!mizuki hcs?? sorry for the trouble </3

My first headcanons post in months, and it's only right to do this, haha. I'm sorry this took so long, but I did enjoy these! Although they might not be what you expect...

{YANDERE!Mizuki general headcanons!} [R]

꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦

>—-×-—*~.୨୧.~*—-×-—<

WARNING: YANDERE CONTENT BELOW!

Oof, now this is extremely tough, for both Mizuki. Their entire secret revolves around keeping a secret that they fear would ruin their friendships, so them suddenly gaining feelings for someone? Yeah...

At first Mizuki tries to deny their own feelings. You are just their friend, nothing else! They shouldn't try to push it or make something deeper with you! Everything should be fine so long as you two remain friends, right?

Unluckily, love isn't so easy to just shrug off, and once they realize just how bad they have fallen for you, they start to get nervous about their feelings all over again, much like when they had the choice to join Niigo.

They hide their struggles from you, like always, but slowly, they start to drift away. They can't afford to become so attached, to show just how vulnerable they truly are, to rely on you with their darkest, deepest secrets. Unfortunately for them, it's not that easy.

"... Huh? Ah, sorry, I was just soooo caught up in my editing yesterday that I missed our shopping trip! Sorry, but can we put it on hold until this next song is released?... Huh?? What do you mean this isn't like me, just trust me, come on! I'm not THAT lazy..."

As time passes, it's not only harder to lie to you, but to themselves as well. Each day they spend away from you they think of you more, and more. Not only more, but they thoughts start to grow intense.

When they previously just thought about being happy with you, and being the best friend for you, now they wanted to watch over you so that you were always well, and safe.

So, still riddled with guilt and now even more so, they start to stalk you. First, it's just online, making sure you make the right friends, then it's more social, as they apologize for their behavior and resume hanging out with you, and slowly they start peering more and more into your personal life.

However, it wasn't of a desire to market you all theirs, they couldn't bear to take you away from what makes you happy, which they understood was socializing and being free, much like them. However, they wouldn't allow anyone to ruin your happiness.

Mizuki couldn't lie to themselves, they were completely and absolutely in love with you now, but someone like them, riddled with insecurities, lies, and identity issues, wouldn't be enough to make you happy, much less as a lover.

However, that doesn't mean they would remain just a friend... In fact, while they looked at you and felt such conflicting emotions in their heart, whenever they looked at others behind their backs, they didn't even notice their suspicions, paranoia, and wariness rising.

"Hey, you remember that girl that asked for help to study two days ago? How do I know about her- that doesn't matter! What's important, is that she's hanging out way too much with the popular girls! Yeah, you know what that means, be careful!"

If they could only be friends, that means they'll be the best friend they can be: Protecting you from people with bad intentions, helping you make your decisions, making your life brighter each day they possibly could. It doesn't matter whether their need for love hurts even worse every time they're called a friend...

It's not long before every single one of your days is influenced by them, be it getting new friends and letting go of others, changing your daily routines, and spending almost every single hour of the day in constant contact with them.

However, it doesn't matter how many times you chat with them now, as opposed to their earlier behavior, you can't help but feel like something's off... Their movements are more intense, their voice as well, yet they only want to talk about you, and shrug off any other friends they mention quickly...

This isn't easy for Mizuki, they love you so much, so much it hurts to be far from you. But they can't love you like you deserve, they shouldn't be the only one. They'll just keep an eye over you, lead you down the right path, keep you safe.

[infiniteeight8]

Thinking about your soul stone au again. I just love it so much and I'd love to read more if you have more ideas. Maybe ironstrange getting together? Or, will anyone find out what happened with the soul stone? Or, what happens when they get back to Earth?

I have so many ideas for this ‘verse, including everything you mentioned here… so of course I wrote something else. LOL. I went from writing Tony’s break up with Pepper (because that has to happen before IronStrange get together), to deciding I’d written too much of that and just jumping to them getting together, but I didn’t want Tony and Stephen to get together just because the Soul Stone said so, so I thought about how a slower build up would work, and I ended up somewhere intermediate. (And now I have ideas for how they get together… and all the build up before that…)

I’ll probably come back to this if I run out of prompts. Or if someone drops another prompt for this in my queue, whichever comes first. (Four prompts currently in the queue.)

-

Stephen meets Tony in one of the more private sitting rooms. He brings a teapot and two cups, setting it down on a small side table between two arm chairs. Tony is slumped in his seat, staring into the distance. That seems like a bad sign. “How did it go?” Stephen asks, pouring a cup.

Tony sighs and takes the cup of tea Stephen hands him. “I didn’t tell her.”

Stephen pauses, then pours a cup for himself. “Didn’t you decide you couldn’t keep a secret this big from someone you’re marrying?”

“Yeah.” Tony takes a long sip from his tea, but Stephen thinks he isn’t stalling for time. Steadying himself, maybe. Sitting, Stephen waits. “When I saw Pepper, the Soul Stone asked who she was.”

“It didn’t know?” Stephen’s relationship with Time doesn’t make him an expert on the infinity stones, but he wouldn’t have thought Soul would need a relationship of any kind spelled out to it.

Tony barks a laugh. “Apparently, it assumed she was someone else, because my soul and Pepper’s are, and I quote, ‘Not a good match.’”

Stephen winces. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Tony rubs a hand over his face. “In a lot of ways, Soul is… another alien. If I met a random alien telepath and they told me Pepper and I wouldn’t work out, there’s no way I’d break up with her on their word.” He pauses and rolls his eyes, but doesn’t speak; presumably Soul weighed in. Tony catches Stephen’s eye. “So why am I considering it now?”

“Because Soul is more than a random telepath,” he says. 

Tony hums briefly and sips at his tea. Eventually, his gaze goes to the Eye of Agamotto. “If Time told you a relationship wasn’t going to work out, would you end it?”

“Time isn’t chatty like Soul apparently is.”

Tony’s eyes narrow. “That isn’t an answer.” Shit. “Spill it, Strange.”

Stephen sets down his tea and looks at Tony. “Those 14 million futures I saw? Sometimes there were years between that moment and the final battles; I saw a lot of potential relationships for myself. Some went well. Some poorly. I can’t forget them, so I know that they’ll influence me, but none of them are this future. It’s unique. I have to approach it that way.”

“But statistically—”

“Statistically, you should have died in Afghanistan,” Stephen interrupts. “Statistically, half the universe should have died to Thanos. We are living in the statistical exception, Tony.” 

Tony groans, leaning his head back against the armchair. “Pepper feels like the only chance I’ll ever have for a real relationship,” he admits. “I don’t want to lose that.”

“I don’t think this is your only chance. But if you love Pepper, if you think you’ll be happy together, then that doesn’t matter,” Stephen says. Time flickers a hundred futures with Tony past Stephen’s mind’s eye. Stubbornly, he pushes them aside. Potential is only potential, he tells the stone silently. This has to be Tony’s decision.

“Yeah,” Tony says, and sips his tea.

[isagrimorie]

You know what I've wanted but I never thought they'd address in Star Wars Ahsoka?

Ahsoka's tendency to be just as lethal as Anakin. Obi-Wan could never kill Anakin but I believe with all my heart despite loving Anakin and maybe even because she loves Anakin, Ahsoka would have killed Anakin if she were in Mustafar too.

It would have broken Ahsoka but she would have gone through with it -- I believe she'd have done it too in Malachor, she'd die trying at least.

(source: @padawan-tano from this gifset)

But also at 16 years old, she beheaded 4 Death Watch members SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Even if Obi-Wan can do this move, he wouldn't choose to do this move because he wasn't a Wartime Jedi. I don't remember if this is before or after the Citadel arc. Looking it up, yeah, the Citadel arc happened in season 3, the Citadel mission was one of the hardest missions she's been on in her young life.

There was a reason neither Obi-Wan and Anakin wanted her there, so Plo-Koon, what the hell!? (I love you Plo-Koon but you spoil Ahsoka).

As this meta points out the Citadel arc is when the war gets real for Ahsoka in a way she can't just push away.

It's subtle and it's not called out but Ahsoka basically does something that Anakin did where Anakin stabs a bad guy in the back and the first notes of the imperial march begin to sound.

And ironically it's to save Tarkin.

Ahsoka had to stab an enemy in the back to save Tarkin (of all people, I bet Ahsoka regrets saving Tarkin years later).

The way Ahsoka stares dazedly at the man she killed by stabbing him in the back... The Citadel arc was rough on Ahsoka.

And then Tarkin tells Anakin: "You've trained her well."

No wonder Ahsoka's afraid she was a little too much like Anakin.

It doesn't help that a ghost of a potential future tells her:

(source by @mlmanakin)

“There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the dark side planted by your master. Do you feel it?”

and then later: "There are many contradictions in you... and in him."

And I am so, so excited that we might be delving into Ahsoka's contradictions. She can be the warmest person in the room but god, can she also make the coldest, most pragmatic decisions for war.

Easily one of the coldest was her decision to set Maul free and use him as a distraction during the Siege of Mandalore - Shattered.

(source by @manny-jacinto)

Ahsoka doesn't want to directly kill or maim the Clone Troopers herself, but it doesn't mean she won't use someone else to do it.

If Maul dies in this, it would be one more thing off her hands.

And I don't think people really get what function Ahsoka served in the fledgling rebellion-- she was basically in Luthen's role in Andor. She's not as quick to go to the most expedient solution, but it doesn't mean she won't.

In season 1 of Star Wars Rebels Ahsoka, as Fulcrum, told Hera to leave Kanaan in the hands of the inquisitor, knowing full well what would be done to Kanaan. She was in the Citadel arc where Jedi were imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Ahsoka knew. But she did the cold math in her head -- but if it weren't for Ezra's message that reminded Ahsoka who she was fighting for and why....)

Ahsoka basically did the cold math in her head at the start of 1x04, Fallen Jedi, when she told Sabine they might have to destroy the map and strand Ezra in another universe in order to keep Thrawn from entering their galaxy and restarting another war.

This is why Baylan's condemnations:

Really, really got to Ahsoka.

When Ahsoka told Sabine in 1x03, that anger unbalances her -- it's extra true of Ahsoka.

But I also don't want to discount what Ahsoka's mother taught her about death, how one must respect death but not fear it, and how that might have influenced Ahsoka's understanding of death as a warrior.

Still, I feel Ahsoka has the same fear as Buffy did -- that all this killing has made her cold with a bonus fear that she might be too like her old Master and fall into the dark side.

I'm so excited for 1x05 and see how this will all tie together now that she's seeing Anakin again. Snips and Skyguy have a lot to talk about and resolve.

[alicentsultana]

Hi ! Sorry to bother but I wanted to ask you ,what are your thoughts on Otto and Alicent relationship and how would you have it developed in season 2?

Have a good day/night !

Hi!

Oh that's complicated.

Based on the fact that Aegon will dismiss him, I believe they will be in bad terms.

We had that deleted dialog about otto using Alicent and proposing a marriage in her name, so maybe he will do it again, or even displease them in a general manner.

Otto acts on his on ways most of the time, maybe he will do something that will be prejudicial to their side as a whole, and it will deteriorate their relationship more. He can also do something Aegon as a King (and father) wouldn't approve, like suggest sending the twins and maelor away, proposing a marriage between Jaehaera and the son of someone else to secure support, comment over the death of Jaehaerys coldly like: if Maelor was the one killed it would have been better...

I believe Alicent will finally have enough of him and won't put up with him anymore, so their relationship will really sour - but he's still ambitious father and grandfather, he will still support his grandson, even not in the best terms.

Reflecting on their relationship as a whole, he got it coming. Alicent tried many times to be a good daughter, to support his decisions, but he never sympathized with her grievances or tried to make it better. He won't have a daughter to take of him now that he is old and we all can understand that, he wasn't a great parent. If there was another King, or if Rhaenyra was a prince, he would also do everything to make Alicent marry in and put his line in the throne, no matter her age, or what she wants, as long as he is winning.

And I kind of can understand him, he is a second son, he has nothing to his name, he lives depending on the favor of others. It's natural to want something more. His execution over was terrible, but I believe his initial motivation was acceptable. Otto and Alicent were alone in the Keep and only had each other once Mrs. Otto Hightower died, and she clearly had a huge influence on them both. When he left KL Alicent was alone and she clearly would want her father back. As they got back together, Alicent eventually matured, learn the things she must do to survive, but she wouldn't do the same things her father did to her children - and if she did, she clearly would have her grievances and would try to explain her reasons to her children.

I also think he had a hand in sending Daeron away.

In the end, he is never the one trying to redeem himself and actively recognizing his errors. Alicent have no obligation to go after him and keep trying to mend their relationship, as she did many times in the past.

Anyway, I tried to imagine if it was my father doing it. I would have a hard time trying to forgive and keep up with him in my life. But this is another time and another moral, so she's doing what a dutiful daughter would do. Once again, bound by duty.

Hoping to hear your thoughts about it! Have a good night/day!

[jekde04]

Serendipitous

Gruvia Week 2023 | Day 3: Starlight

Summary: "Gray-sama thinks it's a bad name, doesn't he?" she asked, cringing a little. "No, no." He ran his hands on her covered arms, relaxing her. "I think it's great. I even think it's serendipitous."

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Read it on: FF | AO3  

"Greige."

Gray's head spun to his companion. He wasn't sure if he heard it right.

"Hmm? You said something?"

Juvia turned to him and smiled. They were walking back to their apartment, hand in hand, under the starlit sky that made her glowing porcelain face all the more radiant.

"Greige. For our baby boy. What do you think?"

"Greige," he repeated, an amused smirk appearing on his lips. Gray was sure he hadn't told her yet. But maybe someone else did, so curiosity got the better of him. "How did you come up with it?"

Juvia looked ahead, her free hand touching her chin as if deep in thought. "Well, she figured Gray-sama's family loved using colors for names, just like Silver-sama and Gray-sama. Greige is a beautiful color, right?" She squeezed his hand as she said so.

"I suppose so," Gray replied. It was certainly a unique one. And of course, there was the fact that he had never thought of their son by any other name than Greige.

But as far as he knew, he never told Juvia that. Sure, Edolas and Earthland are parallel universes, and the major things that happened in that world seemed to occur in their world too. But they have free will and are in charge of their own destinies. And he wanted Juvia to have as much freedom about their family as she could without his knowledge marring her decisions.

And now that she had come up with a name for their still unborn child, miraculously the same name that he had been thinking all along, he could let her in on his secret.

Halting on top of the small bridge overlooking the lake, Gray pulled Juvia aside and gently grabbed her shoulders to face him. "Juvia, I need to tell you something."

Doubt crossed Juvia's face in an instant. "Gray-sama thinks it's a bad name, doesn't he?" she asked, cringing a little.

"No, no." He ran his hands on her covered arms, relaxing her. "I think it's great. I even think it's serendipitous."

"Serendipitous?"

Gray stepped closer and wrapped his arms all the way around her waist, her five-month-old baby bump touching his torso. Instinctively, Juvia wrapped her arms around his neck, a familiar stance they often assumed when they were alone together.

"Remember when we got transported to Edolas in the middle of our 100 years quest?" Juvia nodded, the shadows of the water reflecting the moon and stars above dancing on her beautiful face. "I met our son there." He paused. "Well, technically, he was Edo-Gray and Edo Juvia's."

"Oh," Juvia gasped in awe. "We have a son in Edolas."

Gray nodded. "And his name is Greige."

"Wow," Juvia breathed.  "Why didn't you tell Juvia?"

"I didn't want to influence your decision," he answered. "Besides, I was interested in the names you'd come up with."

"Actually, it wasn't just because of the color that Juvia chose Greige," she admitted, an embarrassed blush blooming on her cheeks. "Greige sounds like Gray-ju, you know, a mix of Gray-sama and Juvia's names."

Gray chuckled. "Now that's just weird."

"But Juvia bets this was also what Edo-Juvia was thinking when she named their son Greige."

"More like Edo-Gray, actually," Gray answered as his thoughts floated back to the Edolas couple and how Edo-Gray practically worshipped the ground Edo-Juvia walked on.

Juvia sighed, pouting a little. "Sometimes Juvia can't help but wonder, what if Gray-sama is like Edo-Gray?"

"You mean crazy?" Gray asked, eyebrows raised.

"Head over heels for Juvia."

"Then that wouldn't make much of a difference, would it?" he answered, poking Juvia's nose and making her giggle, one of his favorite sounds in the world.

"Juvia was just joking. No matter how many Grays there are in the world —" she lightly kissed him on the lips — "you are the only Gray-sama Juvia loves."

"And you are the only Juvia I can handle," Gray chuckled, making Juvia pout cutely. "And the only woman I love, of course." Gray returned the kiss, lingering a bit this time.

A gust of wind blew, prompting the two to let go. Gray gave Juvia a peck on the forehead before declaring, "Let's go. I'll give you a foot rub when we get home."

Juvia squealed and gave her attentive husband a quick hug before resuming their walk home under the starlit night, hands intertwined.

*

A/N: Wow, that was an uncharacteristically fast update from me, lol. Next update would probably take a few days to a week; it’s full-on sm///ut for the temptation prompt and it needs major edits to sound less cringy.

[everybody-loves-purdy]

I feel like Bluestar gets a lot of flack for giving up her kits. Yes, it was ultimately her choice, but Goosefeather's influence really can't be understated, and this is coming from someone who likes him! On top of that, ThunderClan was going through a harsh winter and she also had a vision of Thistleclaw being covered in blood. Sunstar implied he wouldn't have picked Thistleclaw anyway, but how was she supposed to know? Never mind that Bluefur never reflects on this even once makes this, so it makes it seem like Sunstar really would've picked Thistleclaw were it not for the better alternative or it's the writing being weird.

With Goosefeather’s warnings and her vision it honestly seems like StarClan themselves were willing her to take action to stop Thistleclaw being deputy. They were sending warnings to her specifically.

The writing of Bluestar’s Prophecy is weird for many reasons. They should got rid of the implication that Thistleclaw wouldn’t have been chosen anyway. But that’s a hindsight thing, and you’re right as far as she and the clan were concerned, he absolutely would have been deputy if she couldn’t be.

There isn’t honestly much else Bluefur could do in that situation other than what she did, I guess she could have tried to tell Sunstar her concerns about Thistleclaw more, but look how well that turned out for Fireheart when he tried warning Bluestar about Tigerclaw before he attacked her. She should have tried it though, I wish the book had a scene of her trying and failing in that regard.

Even if Oakheart joined ThunderClan, she would still be in the nursery with her kits, especially in those days. Thrushpelt showed no indication he would be willing to be a nursery king and I feel like she definitely would have thought it would be unfair of her to ask even more from him even if that was a possibility back then.

She was just stuck in a really bad situation where she just had so much pressure on her and she did what she thought was best, and it’s a decision she suffered the rest of her life for, it’s not like she did this for herself, she did it for the clan.

[itsclydebitches]

Honestly they went out of the way to present Henry as someone who is incredibly sweet and well-adjusted to the point where I thought that he was maybe a bit too placid. An angelic little man, not one tantrum at all. I thought that maybe it will be a plot point! Maybe Henry is going to ask Ted to come back, because that is a powerful ending (especially if we are shown that Ted kept his connections with Richmond and hopes to come back someday, but right now Henry needs him). That WOULD be a sacrifice.

But in the final he didn’t sacrifice anything, because nobody asked him to come back. Like nobody. Michelle was not calling him saying “Ted, we need you here, Henry is in trouble”. Henry clearly loved Richmond and was not distressed about going back home (unlike Ted, who was distressed when Henry had to go home). Oh his mom told him to? No, his mom hurt him in retaliation for the fuck yous. Also at no point before was there a discussion about how close Henry and his granny are together. She did not seem to be close to them, it was more like she wasn’t and was lonely, but didn’t know how to approach Ted without the passive aggression.

Like!!! Sacrificing everything when you were not asked to do anything is a road to hell, where you suffer and also make other people suffer. “Look, I did this all for you” is bad parenting.

That's a good distinction, anon. Sacrificing, on a literal definition level, is to give something up for something else... but Ted did not make that choice on Henry's behalf. That was not a request Henry made of him and, if he had, that would have changed the ending IMMENSELY for me. It would have shown that he's struggling despite everything else we've seen arguing otherwise. It would have given Henry agency in a decision that was, supposedly, all about him. It would have reframed this choice as something undoubtedly beneficial for both him and Ted, even though it would still require Ted to make the sacrifice itself. An ending where Henry says, "Dad, please come home" and Ted leaves knowing he has the power to make Henry happy in a way he's explicitly requested, balanced out by a montage where they're both visiting London -- because seriously, if the kid can pop over frequently why can't the rich adult with actual ties there?? -- to show that Ted has found a balance that works for them both, even if it's not perfect... that's just a whole different conclusion from what we got.

Because yeah, Henry is kinda perfect. The point where, many a time, he felt more plot device than character to me and that severely undermines the base argument of "Henry needs his father in the U.S. clearly ANY child would be depressed and lashing out and crumbling without that in-person support." Henry is none of those things. He's sweet and well-adjusted and when he makes a big mistake (like the bullying) he immediately makes amends in a creative way without prompting, as a way to show how much of an influence Ted has had on him. He repeats his father's wisdom and holds no grudges (he doesn't care that the soccer game is West Ham) and when he's sad it's because of the reasons already given the green light by the story itself -- Ted is obsessing over Michelle moving on -- rather than his own conflicts: maybe bouncing between parents in different countries is hard. Henry is so happy and nice and well-adjusted that the fandom has had to reeeeeeaally stretch his minuscule flaws in an effort to justify the "Ted needs him" angle. "Look, he's failing science! Clearly Ted being away is weighing on him!" Right, because no kid in the history of ever has failed a class while both parents are living within driving distance...

Honestly, I've been on team "Henry seems fine with this arrangement?" ever since the Christmas episode where he ditches Ted over Zoom to go play with his new toys. It's not that this is abnormal; the normality of this interaction is precisely the point. Henry feels parented enough through whatever Ted has been doing across the pond that, like most kids, he's more interested in presents than holding tight to what might otherwise be a rare moment with his father. Ted is the one who stares sadly at the blank screen. As you say, Ted is the one struggling when Henry goes back, whereas Henry happily skips off, only looking back for a generic goodbye wave. Now add in Ted admitting to his mom that his fear is coming to terms with the fact that Henry will leave, not that he's done him damage by moving to London. Ted is the one who has consistently been shown needing his son, not the other way around (because Henry has Ted), but crucially it's been portrayed in a way that invites critical reflection. Will spending more time with Henry actually fix this? Or, far more likely, is this a result of Ted's anxiety, something he needs to address with a therapist, not bury it by moving back and telling himself, "I'm with Henry 24/7 now so clearly things are perfect :)"

There's simply no optimistic future in this ending for me unless we imagine a deliberate 180: Henry tells Ted he's fine if he works in London, the Richmond fam stage an intervention, etc. Because yeah, this comes across as bad for Ted and bad for Henry. He's finally back with his son? Great! Outside of a generic expectation for what makes a good father, based in traditional America values, that means incredibly little when Henry hasn't been shown to struggle with long-distance parenting. But a Ted who gives up all that without being asked? Who -- if he were anyone else other than near endlessly kind and forgiving -- might grow to resent this situation? Who isn't masking with happiness or genuinely happy, but is instead pushing people away, acting vacant, trying to smile and barely succeeding? Henry's going to have a hell of a time thriving with Ted struggling to this extent, crucially in a way he's no longer in a position to address: no more support system, he's already done his Grand Gesture of Change (London), and things are supposed to be perfect now that he's back with his son. So why would he ever need to fix anything? What even is there to fix? Henry is all he needs. Henry is all he ever needed. He realized that while being away, right? That was the problem, right? Because if not... what does that mean? What does that say about him? How can he possibly need more than his precious son, especially when his biggest fear is losing him?

That's a HELL of a question Ted needs to work though and... can't. Following the finale's course he feels trapped now and I haaaate it 🙃

[dr-lizortecho]

Hi! I would love to hear what you see as the main differences between Elena and Bonnie---their personalities, not how they were treated by the narrative, because we all know Elena was framed as the beloved one while Bonnie was more of the sidekick in the shadows lol. But I mean objectively they seem to have the same strengths---brave, kind, smart, beautiful, popular, good at pretty much everything etc. And it's TVD so of course they appear to have no quirks, consistent flaws (that the narrative acknowledges) or even interests. Like what was Bonnie even majoring in and what did she think she might want to do for a living?! Anyway, on paper Bonnie and Elena are pretty much the same perfect character imo, so I'm curious what you perceive as their personality differences!

This is an interesting question anon, because as you said the show was very inconsistent with giving either of them anything to round them out as characters (Bonnie both more so and less so since she wasn’t the lead). They both offered a lot of positive traits and strength (though different variants of it) to the show, even if the writers room and Plec made those portrayals very imbalanced and biased.

As you said they’re both narratively strong women that are trying to do the “right thing” while working from two different directions and knowledge bases. They’re both kind and loving people willing to make sacrifices for the people they love, who have lost so many of the people closest to them time and again, but who both still fight the good fight.

Differences wise it really does go into the framing of the show itself (and therefore taps into the racial bias that heavily influenced the entire show). Bonnie for example is narratively allowed to be hurt, beaten and broken. While Elena is always saved in the nick of time- the only time she had blood on her it’s someone else’s (iirc) where areas Bonnie suffers to be good. Almost as if Bonnie had to earn her place as a good person, become an actual sacrificial lamb to be seen as good enough (echoed by fandom itself having it out for her because she doesn’t trust a psychopathic serial killer vampire- as much as I love Damon). She’s also supposed to be viewed as strong for losing everyone in her life (grams, her mom, her dad, Enzo) and the narrative forces this on her without letting it sit naturally on it’s own. Because Elena loses all of that and gets to have multiple emotional break downs before realizing that she is stronger for it, and this realization is accompanied with the reward of getting Jeremy and Alaric back from the dead.

Also, Elena doesn’t have a desire for the supernatural. If anything all she wants from the second it knocks on her door is for it to go away. She’s a small town girl with aspirations no bigger than becoming a doctor and raising a family. Which isn’t a bad thing! It makes her all the more real and sympathetic since she’s the eye of the storm as a doppelgänger. While Bonnie has this giddiness and pure love for magic. It’s part of who she is- and quite probably her major in college was focused like her Grams and Professor Shane’s, so she could continue to explore her magic and the history of it. Traveling the world and learning as she did, only to become a Professor herself and pass on all she learned.

As for just personality traits I’d say Bonnie has more resolve, she’s more ready to make a decision and do what has to be done. While Elena is more likely to try and bide her time for fear of making the wrong choice. Which probably has more to do with how they were raised than anything else.

[purplerose244]

Watched the eighth episode of LEGO DreamZzz: Loved it!

EVERY NEW EPISODE IS MY FAVOURITE EPISODE! I feel very attached for all five of them, I want Mateo to keep working on his confidence, I wanted Cooper to keep walking his own way, I want Izzie to save her friends, I want Logan to better himself, I was Zoey to have more friends I... I... 😭😭😭

Also side note, the how to draw videos are super cute, Mateo is super good and also...

Mateo: I'll make a tutorial on how to draw all of these wonderous creatures, quite fascinating right? Anyway TODAY I'M GONNA DRAW MY VERY COOL FRIEND ZOEY

Yeah I'm pretty sure this guy has a crush 😂 And he thinks her eyelashes are pretty 💕💕

I'm super curious! ONTO THE EPISODE

(Yes I watched the whole first season already, and I was wondering if anyone knew where the second season is? I know someone on Youtube post it, but how? Where did it come out?)

THE BIGGER PICTURE

THE THUMBNAIL IS SHOWING MATEO AND ZOEY! ARE THEY FINALLY INTERACTING?!? I feel like we got lots of time to define Zoey's character, so I wonder if we'll see Teo showing more of his crush

DUDE THESE COMICS ARE SO COOL LOOK AT MY BABY GO 😍😍😍

Lol Mat dedicated two whole pages to Zoey and Zian, sweetie you're no subtle, it saves you only your shyness 🥰🥰

AWW HE WANTS TO TALK TO HER 💕

I know that he got a crush and obviously that's a major reason, but I really like how it's so simple. Mateo thinks she is really cool, she wants to talk to her. He really reminds me of me a lot 😅

Ah, the whole important milestone for every artist in school: having the courage to show his art to someone else

So not even Coop saw these comics? Only Izzie did? Interesting...

Logan is up to stuff apparently?

LOL we're finally seeing other professors aside from prof Oz and that one jerk coach! Interesting change from sensei Wu from Ninjago and sir Brickland from Nexo Knights, she seems nice

LOGAN IS BACK IN OUR TEAM?!?! 😍

Awww, he did have a bit of a change of heart! Did he realize Mateo is actually kinda great at leading and wants in? Or just really likes the team? Whatever the reason, welcome back mah dude! 💪💪

Gotta say that Izzie got great instinct, whenever something is wrong she feels it right away, so I'd trust her about this Insomniac Club

... or maybe it's a bunch of people playing Spyro or Ratchet and Clank, who knows 😂

Noooo stealing is a bad idea

NOOOO STEALING IS A BAD IDEA

Vincent's characters are quite different from each other, but they do have a common pattern: they make some pretty amazingly bad decisions 😂😂

TEO NO DON'T AGREE 😱

My baby got confidence only in the Dream World while not in the real world COME ON SWEETIE YOU CAN DO IT

Oh so we are using that locator thingie! It seemed very useful when they found it in the Night Bureau, even though the discarded it so easily

Is that thing not enough to find the Sandman? I guess not?

LOOK AT THE SCHOOL 😂

ZOEY IS THERE 👏👏👏👏👏

"Hey broseph, que pasa?" I just love these little spanish snippets, love to see some rep, especially in a LEGO show!

DUDE WHAT IS THIS COACH DREAMING

Interesting this aspect of this world, I thought that dreams were just the people landing on these realms and exploring, but I wonder if these worlds change according to the influence of the person dreaming

Julia seems like a very sweet lady... unfortunately she teaches math, therefore making her the evil incarnate 😡

I hate math sorry miss school memories

LOOK AT Z BLOB PUSHING MATEO I LOVE HIM SO MUUUUUUCH 💚💚💚💚

Zoey playing the guitar 😍 Well she has always showed she was a musical person, between the song and recognizing music notes in the seashell message, I didn't realize to which extent! It fits her

Is the Rad Radioactive some sort of narrative about drinking junk stuff before going to sleep? 😂😂

I... did not expect the Nightmare King to straight up say "dude-bro" 🤣

Awww, is Logan becoming self-conscious over causing so many troubles? I realize I've been very against him in the past but in retrospect, that must have been tough

Hey Nightmare Kin- I mean, Lance

Dude you're seriously using his insecurities against him? HE IS A KID DANG IT

I LOVE MATEO SO MUCH I CAN'T EVEN I SWEAR 😭😭😭😭😭 We got so many wonderful protagonists in the past but all with ego, with confidence, with inner strength, which is great. Then there's this kid who struggles so much into the real world, he's self-conscious about his art, he can't even talk to the girl he's into and he feels so little about himself

THIS KID WILL LEARN THAT ONE STEP AT THE TIME YOU CAN GET EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT TO BE AND I'M ALL HERE FOR IT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Also can I just say, love me a guy who thinks his girl is the coolest person ever 👌👌

Fun fact, in the English dub Mateo says "T-That was amazing! Your song, I mean...", while in the Italian dub he says "Beautiful, amazing... your song!". It makes his feelings even clearer 💕

WELL HELLO MORE ANGST FOR ZOEY? Gotta be honest I did think that the song debacle was a big weak, but I didn't think there was a whole thing about losing everything, included a best friend! My poor super cool girl 😢😢😢

... is... is Zian the best friend? Did the Night Hunter hit the best friend, making it a night terror, but managed to break free and now he looks like this?

HEADCANON MOMENT DON'T MIND ME JUST HAVING A BLAST 😍

Now I get why Zoey was adamant over Izzie not calling her her friend... but I think this group is making her change her mind 💕

Logan, sweetie, why did you think rapping was a good idea? 😅

Okay, new theory... what if Ms. Castillo is Lunia? Maybe when defeated, Lunia retreated into the Waking World and stayed there. She seems to be always there to help, I kinda think it could be true

PLAN TIME WITH MATEO- Logan no stop what are you doing- DROP THE MATTIE NICKNAME DANG IT HE DOESN'T LIKE IT

I know you're trying but come on

I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING BUT STOP

YEEEEEE ZOEYYYYYYYY 😍😍

"That's what friends are for, right?" I'm super happy for her but also I love that Mateo is not smiling, he looks genuinely shocked like "DID I MANAGE NOT TO MESS IT UP?!" 😂😂

THERE'S A FROG TAXIE 😵‍💫

Julia seems like another stressed character, she just wants to play her music and relax for once in her life... yeah, she teaches math, that's understandable

Okay, see, Castillo is the first one to clap! I feel like she knows more than what she lets on and after my experience throught Ninjago and master "there's something I should've told you" Wu, I don't trust old LEGO people not to know stuff

They got the answers... still bad idea 😅

LOOK AT THAT EXCHANGE OF LOOKS THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO TALK ZOEY KNOWS NOW THAT HE WANTS TO BE HER FRIEND AND STRUGGLES WITH TALKING AND OMG LOOK AT HOW SHE LOOKS AT HIM WHILE HE WALKS TO HIS DESK SHE LOOKS HAPPY AND I BELIEVE GRATEFUL AAAAAAA- 🥰😍🥰🥰😍🥰🥰

Yes I might be shipping them, we'll see what happens but so far I like what I see 🥰🥰

Ah, so the answers were useless I see

And Teo knows they screwed up, alright that's nice that he didn't loose his integrity over something like this 👌👌

Okay but did all the other people hyped up the Destroyers the entire episode to troll them or because they actually fear them? Just how mean are these middle school students, seriously 😅

Yeah Teo needs to train, my son sucks at sports just like moi 😅😅

Nice to see Cooper is not letting Logan off the hook on this one! And still Teo is kind enough to apologize for being hard on him... even though he had rights for it 😅😅

Noooo Logan don't do something stupid

Logan??

LOGAN????

ONLY TWO EPISODES LEFT AND OMG I'M LIKING THEM MORE AND MORE 😍😍😍

[alexbkrieger13]

Kind of a summary what Magda, Seger and Kosse have to say about the Saudi sponsor

Blue-yellow about Saudi World Cup sponsor: "Don't understand how to think"

 "Visit Saudi" is rumored to be sponsoring the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The Swedish national team does not stand behind the sponsor. - Many will feel uncomfortable, says Magdalena Eriksson to the Football Channel.  

Saudi Arabia's tourism authority "Visit Saudi" is said to be sponsoring the upcoming WC in Australia and New Zealand along with giants such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa. It is something that has upset the host nations, who believe that they are disappointed and shocked that they were not consulted on the matter. 

Earlier this week, Caroline Seger reacted to the information and said it was tragic and sad. She further said that they do not want women's football to be controlled by money that is not clean. 

- It will be like everything else, there will be a bad image of Fifa's way of handling things and everything is ultimately about money. It is only what rules and not everything that must be done or women's rights. I don't know if they think it's about raising the issue and starting to discuss the topic, but in the end I think the underlying issue is always about money. And I don't want women's football to be ruled by money in order to survive. I want a clean sport, she said then. 

Now Magdalena Eriksson reacts to the question, she too. 

- I think it is incredibly unfortunate and strange after everything that has happened after the debate in Qatar. I don't understand how you think when you make a decision like that, especially when you haven't consulted with the host nations. It is nevertheless in their stadiums that the advertisement will be shown. I hope that strong enough voices have been raised so that it will be possible to recall and if it is not possible, I think it is incredibly sad as many LGBTQ people who will participate in the championship will feel uncomfortable, she says to the Football Channel and further explains that she feels powerless: 

- You know little, does it matter if you take the fight or speak out if it still leads nowhere? It's really boring, but at the same time you can influence what you yourself can influence. It will create headlines and spread what I think if I clearly show where I stand on issues. That is my responsibility. Men, you may not be able to do that, but I will feel that I have done my part. 

Kosovare Asllani explains that it is problematic to have a sponsor that does not at all support everyone's human rights. 

- For my own part, it doesn't feel natural. It doesn't look good at all and it would be incredibly strange, it's a country and a sponsor that doesn't support wearing the armband, she says to Fotbollskanalen. 

Last winter, Fifa banned the nations that participated in the World Cup from wearing the "One Love" armband. A captain's armband that shows support for everyone's rights. And should it be the case that the bandage is also banned during the WC in Australia and New Zealand, Blågult will not back down. 

- I fully support it. Everyone must stand for everyone to have the same rights, it may be easier to rule a country, but we women are pioneers. We want to change and move the world forward, that is, if someone were to fine us then you can do it, but if we create a movement where everyone does the same thing, it will not look good if everyone is fined. We will not back down, we are women, concludes Asllani.