#so if anything eugene would seem to me to be older?

[variberry]

question for the tts famdom:

am i alone in thinking that quirin kinda sucks?

- i mean first and foremost we have the destruction of Old Corona due to the black rocks. given that he’s been a part of the brotherhood since its inception, Quirin is 100% fully aware of what they are. Frederic is an ass but what was Quirin hoping to achieve by lying to him about the rocks? it seemed like he was fine with letting Old Corina be completely destroyed and just moving everyone somewhere else, which he knows WILL NOT WORK because the rocks will continue to chase the sundrop until they reunite!! what was he thinking??

- then we have the withholding information from Varian. i know he’s a kid, but from what the viewers can tell, Quirin is under no orders to keep quiet about what the rocks are. it would not kill him to be like “hey, the rocks are powered by a stone with the power to decay, so maybe don’t mess with them until we collectively come up with a definitive plan of action.” there is so little effort put in to keeping Varian in the loop that it borders on stupidity. of course he’s going to take matters into his own hands if you’re acting like nothing’s wrong

- lastly, and this isn’t necessarily Quirin’s fault (*side-eyes Chris*) but there is no way in HELL that long ass note he wrote to Varian before getting encased in the amber just said “i’m proud of you.” there’s no way. throughout the episode, there are obvious allusions to what Quirin might want to share with varian— 1) the zoom in on the family portrait signifies that it might be something to do with Ulla’s implied death/disappearance and 2) the repeated appearance of the brotherhood symbol on the chest, helmet, and marking on Quirin’s hand, alluding to his role in the current situation. and we see him write a literal scroll of text. there are several close up shots on the letter, so we, as the audience, assume that it’s important and will mean something to Varian later on. fast forward to the season 3 premiere where Quirin is finally freed, and the note disintegrates after Rapunzel uses the decay incantation. well, shit. but now Quirin is alive to explain everything! hooray! but when varian says he needs to know what was in the note, Quirin pauses before simply going: “i’m so proud of you, son.” HUH??!? no. there is simply no way. it’s implied in the finale that Varian is kind of aware of the brotherhood, but there’s no explanation as to how on earth he found out. Eugene even has to remind him that Quirin was a part of it! Varian then gets upset at the idea of his father being affected by the talisman like Adira and Hector, implying that he doesn’t really understand how the brotherhood is connected to the moonstone. he can’t know and not know at the same time. if i’m missing something, please lmk but from what I gathered, Quirin has not explained anything to Varian. it’s implied that he wrote it all down in a letter he assumed Varian would read after his own death, but for some reason, when given the chance to, he doesn’t explain a thing. why? why was Quirin content with Varian finding out in the event of his death but not while he’s still alive? did Chris forget what he wrote???

- extra random gripe, but how old is Quirin? in the present, he looks a little older than Fred tbh but in the ‘25 years ago’ flashbacks to the Dark Kingdom, he looks the same! is the gray streak in his hair just part of his design? idk why this bugs me but it does

in conclusion: Quirin just pisses me off

anyway, lmk what you all think. thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[h3av3nsenth377bent]

Still formulating thoughts on Queer, watched it last Tuesday, and let me say: Luca has done it again. (Slight spoilers ahead⚠️)

Before anything I want to get some surface level ideas out, such as a comparison to Luca’s earlier film (and arguably what launched him into main stream) Call Me By Your Name. It’s easy to want to make any comparisons between these two works, as both are some commentary on young gayness explored between an older man and a younger man, but I believe Luca has learned from past mistakes, because where CMBYN’s greater messages got diluted and ignored in favor of enhancement of the surrounding environment and the romanticism of such, Queer takes on a mute almost distant atmosphere. Empty Mexico streets, grimly apartments, standard bars and restaurants; it all sets the scene for the characters and story to create their environment instead of having a pre-placed environment they must work around. This stark contrast between Queer and the other works of Luca is only the beginning of a uniquely mystifying film.

Part I~The Incomplete Self:

Who is Lee? Other than being the main character who’s depressing life we see at glances, Lee is someone who doesn’t even seem to know himself. When asking whatever kind of young man that he stumbles across in dimly lit bars and lively cafes, “are you Queer?” you get a sense he’s not asking the boy sitting across from him, nor is he asking the nerdy little homo in the audience watching the scene unfold, but rather asking himself. You’d think a man—who’s sexual prowess is implied to be far and wide on the “Green Lantern” scene of this washed out Mexican town—would know the answer to such a question, but the longer you follow him down these weirdly empty streets it becomes apparent just how little anyone knows about him. One of those clueless spectators being Eugene, our main love interest (if you could call it that). Whether it be through Eugene, or because of Eugene, we watch a transformation of Lee, a regression. Where Lee was once a matured homosexual man, sure in his skin, now stands a stuttering, tripping, love stricken boy. Eugene entertains this, laughing along, letting Lee steal glances into who he might be, but never letting him any closer; from this rises our first conflict: who is Lee with Eugene?

Part II~The Complete Self:

Eugene brings on the giddiness within Lee, spurring on our adventure but now in a new, more motivated, light. Lee is chasing after himself by chasing Eugene, but he is always just out of reach. We see the looks through windows, the fleeting touches, the ghost touches, all of it amounting to Lee’s want to have more: to be more. He finds that more in Eugene, that completion. The first intimate scene between Lee and Eugene is slow, sensual, and all consuming; you feel the heat and passion of Lee, and the unsure wanting of Eugene, all summing up to a beautiful completion as they both climax. This is the last time we see them both come.

Part III~Rebirth of the New Self:

Lee’s completion does not last long, as it is respective that to have completion with another you must rebirth yourself with them to come back into life with that other. Lee and Eugene fail this rebirth. The mystifying root (whose name escapes me now a week later) Lee is desperate to find is supposed to be the beginning of that rebirth; we see Eugene’s silence throughout the film, it’s what seems to capture Lee in the first place, he wants to know who the queer on the inside is. Lee wants the telepathic abilities of the root so he can finally reach Eugene, he doesn’t want to have to actually break down the wall himself, it’s as if it doesn’t feel natural to him. Cut to one of Lee’s strange dream sequences: a baby crying, a not queer disembodied touching a woman, the knife is sharp, the people are judging, the hate is hiding something: someone. It is Lee’s knife, his own knife is being sharpened preparing for a punishment if he cannot follow through with the rebirth; the baby is crying, Lee and Eugene, they cannot be rebirthed, they’ve failed. Lee is touching a woman, he’s failed, he is not queer: he is disembodied. Without the new form of fusion between both him and Eugene Lee has no body, he has no self. When Lee and Eugene—and our randomly amazing trip sitters from the depths of the forest—take the root, they fuse. Or at least try. Maybe it’s Lee’s drug abuse, maybe it’s Eugene’s “girlfriend” back in Mexico, or maybe love isn’t real and Lee and Eugene were doomed from the start. It’s probably the drugs. Lee is constantly lying to everyone while not speaking at all, tripping over himself, acting koi, like a school boy with a crush: or maybe a grown man high on heroin. High on the root together, Eugene and Lee begin fusing—literally. Veins pulsing, connecting, reshaping into something new, something together. I believe this scene is the most intimate, as they take in a fetal state consuming each other with flesh and mouth. This feeling doesn’t last. Before the trip to the forest they have sex, Eugene does not come.

Part IV~Disembodied:

Lee loses Eugene. Lee loses himself. He’s back in Mexico, the Green Lanterns still there, the bars, the streets, but not Eugene. Eugene is south again, with a new man: he’s not queer. We enter Lee’s dream again, more empty than before; a snake in the shape of infinity eating itself, Eugene laying in bed with a glass casing over his chest, a bottle on Eugene’s head, Lee’s pistol. Aim. Shoot. Who pulled the trigger? Lee races to Eugene’s side and cries, but when the window opens he looks away and when he looks back, Eugene is gone. Like the man he was many moons ago Lee walks to bed and shakes, withdrawal; this poor man has been withdrawn from the world, from his body, but it’s not heroin this time. It’s his self. As he shakes a young Eugene comes up behind him and holds him, Lee stills, they rest. I’m not queer, I’m disembodied. Lee wants to be brought back to his body, but he can’t until he realizes it’s his, not Eugene’s, he can’t keep running forever.

Fin

[tsukiusagi180]

varian x reader

Your POV

Today is a special day, you see Varian and I have been friends since the day Rapunzel Cassandra and I went to him for Raps hair. After that a friendship is linked, it seems to me a lot of alchemy even if I didn't understand anything about it I try to listen to him despite everything, and after months of friendship I wanted to ask him to go out with me:

Raps: Come on (Y/n) you can do it! He will surely say yes to you

Eugene: or maybe not but it’s not super serious

Raps/cass/Lance: Eugene!!

Eugene: bha what?

(Y/n): but no, you see, even Eugene doesn't believe it!

I sat at the foot of the bed of raps putting myself in fetal position, I felt their looks showing their pity but I didn't pay attention to it until a hand was placed on my shoulder, it was Eugene:

Eugene: (Y/n) Varian and in love with you for sure, whether he knows it or not he certainly does

Lance: I can already see you in a boat looking at the lanterns

Cass: And you could go horse riding!

Raps: but for that (N/N) he makes you go see him okay?

(Y/n): yes! I'm going there, wish me luck! I

stood up confidently and they applauded me then I went to look for Varian, as expected he was nowhere in corona nor in old corona, he was in his laboratory when I returned I ran into his father and we it's exchanged brief politeness then I went to see my crush.

(Y/n): hi Varian!!

Varian: Ho hey (N/n) are you okay? What brings you here? You're good, I need your help

(Y/n): are you okay? I'm not allowed to go see my friend? And yes I can help you tell me everything

Varian: yes thank you um you see Cassandra? I'm in love with her but I don't know how to tell her

My heart is broken at this precise moment, ok he was in love with a girl who was 8 years older, ok they will never be together but he doesn't love me...

(Y/n): Var, she's an adult, she doesn't love you like that

Varian: just help me please

(Y/n): I...

I pretended to watch the time so I could make up an excuse

(Y/n): MY GOD DID YOU SEE THE TIME? I HAVE TO GO RAPS NEEDS ME!!

I ran away and started crying, I took refuge in my room at the palace because yes I lived there. I didn't want to see Varian for a few days, then one day we were confronted:

Varian: (Y/n) what's going on?

(Y/n): I don't want to talk about it

Varian: You want me to use a truth serum!?

(Y/n): DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S WRONG? I AM FUCKING IN LOVE WITH YOU!

Varian: but... we are friends?

(Y/n): and you like cass I know!

Varian: I'm sorry I don't love you but love isn't always reciprocated

(Y/n): I know...

I said this while crying because I knew we would never date

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter sixty four

close to home | chapter sixty four

plot: time continues to move on for the reader

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 3,214 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, the passing of a beloved pet A/N: thank you for reading!! This chapter is going to feature the death of Tora. I know how much you all love her, but with all the time jumps and to continue this story, cats unfortunately do not live that long. I apologize if this is going to be trigger, and if it makes any of you feel better, I based Tora on my cat who is only 3, and I was sobbing writing this as well. So as a little pick me up, there is the beautiful and loving cat that I based Tora off of (and my bookshelf lol) at the end of this chapter

Weeks turned into months as you and Daryl worked on coming back together. By early spring, you were even more in love with and fully committed to him again. You trusted him again, which seemed to elevate Daryl in unexpected ways. He was more open with the kids and even Michonne and took a seat on the council--you declined Michonne’s offer for the hundredth time. 

By late summer, you were happier and healthier after Daryl returned to you. It was coming up on a year since you’d reunited with him, and things were almost perfect again. 

Almost.

With Tora’s age, you had her out of commission. She wasn’t allowed outside the walls, and stairs were getting too hard for her to climb. You or Daryl would have to bring her up and down. She was getting older after all these years, and you knew she wouldn’t make it to the end of the year. So you spent as much time with her as you could. She followed you around the community, cuddled with you and Daryl every night, and even with Dog. You had Siddiq look at her, of course, and you knew she was having kidney issues. But you could do nothing about it until she started showing pain.

Despite Daryl telling you it was a bad idea, you visited with Negan a few times every now and then. You meant what you said to him years ago, that you were moving past things and letting go of the anger. That meant there was room for a tiny bit of guilt for him spending the rest of his life in a cell, not that you thought he should be let out. But you went down to talk to him, and he was never an asshole to you. For whatever reason, he respected your marriage to Daryl and told you he just liked having someone to talk to. 

You knew Judith was doing the same but didn’t say anything. And Judith was Judith; she would do what she wanted anyway, just like her brother and father. 

Which was why Michonne agreed to let you and a group take her out for a hunt. She was nine now, and Michonne knew how important it was for her to know the ins and outs of the area around the community. She trusted you with Judith’s life. 

So you had Rosita, Eugene, Laura, and Aaron come out with you, as they did most of the out-of-community work anyway. Daryl was needed to help build up one of the new farming stands, so you couldn’t have him come. 

You were meant to meet them in a few minutes at the gate and could hear Judith bumping around in her room while getting ready. The two of you never seemed to get anywhere on time these days. 

“You gotta be kidding me,” You mumbled as you adjusted your belt. It was too tight around your waist. But it was notched where it always was, and then you realized it wasn’t the belt that was too tight. 

“No,” You shook your head as you walked to the mirror that hung from behind the door. You lifted your shirt and turned to the side.

“No, no.” You mumbled as you set your hands around your stomach. It was definitely sticking out more than it should’ve.

You let the shirt drop, which made you look almost normal, and then you picked the shirt up again as you thought about when you got your last period--but of course, it was never regular after the end of the world to begin with. 

“(Y/N), I’m ready to go…” Judith swung the door open but paused when she saw you. “Are you pregnant?” She yelled. 

You immediately pulled her into your room and shut the door behind her. “Do you always have to be so loud,” You said, which made her giggle. 

“Let me see.” She reached for your shirt, which you let her, and she pulled it up. “I remember how big mom’s tummy got.”

“I’m not pregnant,” You said, but you weren't so sure when you looked in the mirror. The symptoms you had for your first were surprisingly few; if it was the same, it wasn’t a wonder how you didn’t realize sooner. 

“I bet Daryl will be happy.”

“Go get your sword before I toss you out the window, missy.” 

***

“Judith!” You screamed, flicking blood off your machete. Your heart was beating faster than you ever could’ve imagined as you looked around the woods for your niece. You felt tears burn in your panic, and you looked at Rosita, who looked as desperate and scared as you. 

You followed Rosita through the woods, screaming out for Judith. You ran towards the sound when you finally heard her yelling that she was close. 

“I heard them calling, they needed our help.” Judith said. 

You looked behind her and immediately drew an arrow. Five strangers were following behind her, all out of breath and in bad shape. Dog was barking like crazy in warning, and you whistled to recall him. He sat next to you. 

Rosita and Aaron discussed with Judith as to why you couldn’t bring them back, and you watched her threaten that she wouldn’t come back. 

“We bring them.” You said. “I will talk to Michonne. I want us in group formation. There are walkers behind every damn tree.” You said. 

Eugene and Laura took the lead, while Rosita and Aaron took the back. You and Judith walked side by side with the strangers. You noticed the two quiet ones were talking in sign language, and you could pick up a few things they were discussing. 

“Hey,” You took a couple quick steps and looked at the one who heard you. You set your machete away and did your best to sign as you spoke. “I’m (Y/N). It’s been a while since I’ve signed. I wanted to reassure you that you’ll be safe. We’ll help your friend. I can’t promise anything after that.”

“I’m Kelly,” The younger one said as she signed. “This is my sister Connie.” You looked at Connie while she signed. “She said-.”

“I got the gist,” You said, then you did your best to sign again and had to spell out a few words you didn’t remember. I went to school for speech pathology before switching to medicine. It’s been a long time, though.

It’s nice to meet someone I can talk to you, Kelly always has to translate for me, Connie signed to you. You were able to understand most of it and you nodded at her, which made her smile. 

***

Daryl was the first one you saw when you walked through the gates, and you smiled, jogging up to him. Your bow clanged against his crossbow as you hugged, and he kissed you briefly before looking past you. “What’s all this?”

“Don’t ask,” You muttered. “One word. Judith.”

“Ain’ a surprise.”

You turned back to the strangers as they marveled at the community, and you saw in their faces how relieved they were. They had to have been out there for a long time. You couldn’t imagine it. After all this time, you didn’t know what you would do without the communities. 

There was a slight argument amongst the residents before Michonne showed up, and after looking them over, she had them put away into holding for the night so the council could vote in the morning. 

Daryl had more work to do, so he bid goodbye, and you walked home with Judith. 

“So when are you gonna tell him?”

“Judith.”

“What? I’m just asking. Would that mean I’m an aunt if you have a baby?”

You smiled, looked down at your niece, and then wrapped an arm around her. “No, sweetheart. It would make you cousins. You’ll be an aunt when RJ has a baby in many, many years from now.”

“But I could help you take care of it.”

“Judith.” 

“Maybe you can ask mom to help you since you don’t have any kids,” Judith asked as she looked up at you. 

You frowned slightly and tipped her hat forward to cover her eyes. “I did have a kid. I had a son. But he died in my belly.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Judith said. “Was it before?”

You nodded as you stopped by the stairs to your house. “It was.”

Judith gave you a big hug. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great mom. You’re my best friend.” 

***

You were standing in your room a few hours later naked, having just showered. Your long hair was dripping as you turned to look at yourself in the mirror. Your stomach wasn’t extended the way it would’ve been if you’d put on a bit of weight--which you’d gotten back to your regular weight after being shot--but it was just your lower belly. And it took you back to years ago with Liam, and you were this size at around five months. If you were pregnant, you’d be showing earlier. 

You pressed your hand against the swell and sighed loudly. Pregnant. After all this time, you couldn’t be, could you? Not after all these years. 

The sound of meowing caught your attention, and you quickly got dressed before walking over to the window. Tora was at the front steps, and you didn’t like the sound of her howling. Your fingers trembled as you looked at her for another second. She was pushing thirteen, which was on her breed's older side of the lifespan. 

You quickly rushed down the stairs and outside. 

“Tora, sweetie,” You said as you scooped her up in her arms. She’d been losing weight a lot in the past month. You knew her time was coming. 

She meowed quietly as she got comfortable in your arms. Living on your farm, you’d grown up around house cats and barn cats, and they all acted the same way when it was time. When they needed to say goodbye. So when you saw Tora looking up at you with those sweet, innocent eyes, you knew it was. 

Tears burned your eyes as you thought about your old treehouse and living there with her alone. How she kept you alive because you were too stubborn to let her die. And even before that, when Liam gave you to her on Christmas morning, she immediately crawled into your lap and started purring. Thirteen years was long for a cat in this world, and she spent most of it malnourished, even though you did your best. 

“(Y/N)? What’s going on?” 

You looked up at Judith with tears on your cheeks. “Can you run and get Siddiq for me, sweetie?”

Ten minutes later, Siddiq held Tora in his arms as you watched him press around her belly. When she showed discomfort and tried to scratch him, he gave her back to you. 

“I’m sorry. It’s probably the kidneys. I can use the machine on her tomorrow to take a look.”

You nodded, but you knew it wouldn’t come to that. She wasn’t going to make it through the night. 

“Do you know where Daryl is?”

“He was with Aaron. I think they were workin’ late on the farming stand.”

Siddiq said goodnight and squeezed your arm before he left, and then Judith wrapped her hand around your bicep. “Can I come with you?”

“I’m gonna bring her back here, Jude. I promise. Can you get some pillows and blankets on the couch? You know how she likes it.”

Judith nodded and ran back into the house. You sniffled a few times and started walking towards the center of the community. 

You were already crying when you saw Daryl with Aaron, working with flashlights to get the stand finished. You tried to call out his name but had to take a deep breath. Tora stirred in your arms and you shushed her, kissing the top of her head. 

“Daryl?” He turned around the moment he heard the tone of your voice, and you saw his face drop when he saw you. “Tora…she…” You broke out into tears. 

He tossed his tools aside, told Aaron he’d see him tomorrow, and then came to you. “Come on, darlin’, let’s get her home.” 

You nodded as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and led you home.

Judith set up the couch like you asked her, and you gently set Tora on the blankets before sitting on the floor. You gently ran your hand along her body and fluffy tail, and she looked at you with those big eyes. 

Daryl sat down next to you while Judith sat on the couch. You pressed your forehead on the cushion near her paws and tried not to start scream-crying in front of Judith. You wanted to do that and throw things around and punch holes through walls. But you didn’t do any of that. 

“Why don’ ya go get ya mom, Judith? She’ll wanna be here.” 

Michonne joined you with a sorrowful look on her face. She loved Tora, although she didn’t show it. But you remembered perfectly her sneaking little bits of food to her when she thought no one was looking. 

After a little while, you let Tora sleep and leaned against the loveseat. Daryl sat beside you, and Michonne took the chair with Judith on her lap. You told them all silly stories about Tora before they knew her when she was just a kitten, and you told Judith how much her brother loved the cat and how you’d always find him stealing her every chance she got--which was something they had in common. Over the past six years, Tora often slept at the foot of Judith’s bed. 

It drew further into the night, and everyone was half asleep when Tora stirred on the couch. The bell from her collar rang as she jumped down and limped her way toward you. She curled herself up on your lap, and you gently pet her. Daryl took your other hand, and Judith and Michonne came to sit on the floor with you. 

“You’re okay,” You said through your tears. “You can sleep now. Say hi to Carl for me, okay, when you get there?”

Around two in the morning, Tora took her last breath in your arms. You sobbed, holding her body to your chest. Daryl held you while Michonne held a hysterical Judith. 

Your heart ached when Daryl tried to take her body from you, and you finally gave in. “Make sure she’s comfortable,” You sobbed. “Wrap her in her favorite blanket. Please be careful.”

“I got her, I got her,” He reassured you.

Judith came over to you and sat on your lap to hug you, and you held her tight as you both cried. 

“I wanna bury her next to Carl,” You said through tears. “I think they’d both really like that.” 

Michonne wiped away her tears, and she stood up. “Of course, we can plant some flowers. Anything you want. I’m gonna take Judith up to bed. You can sleep in my room if you want, honey.”

Judith nodded through tears as she stood up. “I wanna help bury her.”

You slowly stood up and ran your hand on the back of her head. “We’ll do it tomorrow morning before the meeting. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll wake you up for it.”

Your niece gave you one more big hug before Michonne led her to the stairs, and you could hear her crying on the floor above you. You sat down on the chair and hung your head in your hands. 

Footsteps caught your attention, and you looked at Daryl, who you knew was crying. He must’ve taken a few extra minutes to avoid crying in front of Judith. 

“Wrapped her up gentle, I promise,” Daryl told you and helped you up so he could hug you. “In her favorite blanket. We’ll bury her tomorrow.”

“We have to give her a funeral.” You cried into his chest. “A good one. She was my life.”

He rubbed the back of your head and kissed your forehead. “We’ll give her the best damn funeral Alexandria has ever seen, okay? Come on, let’s get to bed. Ya gotta try and sleep, darlin’.”

You didn’t want to; of course, you didn’t. But you knew you needed to, and sleep would make you forget. So you let him bring you upstairs, help you into pajamas, and then hold you while you cried yourself to sleep. 

***

The following day, Tora’s absence had you hysterically crying. It woke Daryl up, and he held you, rubbing your back and trying to help you calm down. Then your door opened, and Judith ran in. 

“I thought you left without me, and I missed it,” She started sobbing and jumped on the bed, pushing her way so she was lying between you guys.

“No, sweetie,” You cried and kissed her forehead. She cuddled up against you to cry. 

***

Aaron must’ve spread the word about Tora’s passing because your family was there as you carried her wrapped-up body to the small cemetery. Michonne must’ve woken up early to dig the grave because it was already ready and waiting next to Carl’s. 

You knelt on the ground and gently laid her body to rest. You wiped away your tears and stood up. Daryl wrapped an arm around you and nodded at Aaron, who grabbed the shovel. 

“I would like to say a few words,” Judith said as she grabbed your hand. “If everyone would please pay attention…” When everyone was, she spoke again. “I knew Tora my whole life. I heard stories about her sleeping in my crib with me. And she was the best cat I ever had. And I love her so much.”

You smiled through your tears at your niece, squeezing her hand. 

“One time when we were on the road,” Rosita said, “Before we found this place, she came up to me and sat next to me. It was weird for me because I’m a dog person. But she just sat right there. It was like she knew I needed to not be alone.” 

“I enjoyed watching her chase birds,” Eugene bowed his head. 

Your eyes filled with tears as Michonne stepped up. “She used to try and steal RJ’s food,” She laughed. “I always let her have some.”

“Thank you guys,” You said. “Thank you for helping keep her safe. She was special. And even though this is heartbreaking, I’m happy I was able to keep her safe. And she passed peacefully in my arms. Safe, and warm, and so, very loved.” 

You looked up at Daryl, the only one who hadn’t said anything. 

“I, uh.. I first met the cat when I first met (Y/N), when we almost killed each other. I remember thinkin’ she must be crazy for havin’ a cat. But Tora was good. And ‘m gonna miss her every day.” 

[footprintsinthesxnd]

Epiphany

So here is the fic to accompany the BoB x Taylor Swift moodboard for Bull. I actually really enjoyed writing for Bull for the first time. Thank you to @sarah-457 for requesting a fic for Bull Randleman. Thank you @rain-lavender-rain for proofreading.

Y/n watched in defeat as members of Easy Company trickled back into camp; bloodied and bruised, some carrying their wounded comrades, others limping in on their own. Y/n hurried to help them, guiding them to the aid station where Eugene had already begun to patch up several wounded soldiers.

“Sit down over here, kid. Where are you hit?” She asked, rolling up the young man’s trouser leg when he motioned to the wound. It wasn’t bad, a clean hit straight through. She applied some sulfa powder, dressing the wound quickly before moving on to the next casualty. Her eyes continued to scan over the stream of men entering the camp, keeping her eyes peeled for one particular sergeant.

“Hey Hoob,” she called out as Donald Hoobler walked passed her. “Have you seen Bull?”

“No sorry,” he mumbled. “Not since we retreated. He was there during the advance though. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”

Y/n nodded, continuing to wrap a sling around the injured soldier's arm, her mind too preoccupied with the thoughts of Bull.

She wasn’t exactly sure when she and Bull had become friends. He was a private person and hadn’t warmed to her as quickly as the likes of George Luz and Skip Muck had but they soon became firm friends. Bull seemed to have this older brother persona and was always watching her back, even though Y/n didn’t see him as a brother and may or may not have been harbouring the world's largest crush on the sergeant.

As the night drew in, Y/n finally retreated to the foxhole she shared with Eugene, although as usual, Eugene was checking on someone. Y/n often wondered if he ever slept. He would rise early and go to bed late, the second someone was wounded he was by their side and she often wondered how he got there so quickly.

She slumped into the foxhole, cursing the world as she threw her musette bag off her shoulder. She still hadn’t seen Bull and the niggling feeling in her stomach grew to an all consuming ache.

“Hey Y/n, have you seen Bull yet?” Johnny asked, glaring down at her. Johnny always glared, despite the three of them being friends she could rarely recall a time when she witnessed Johnny Martin really smiling.

“No I haven’t seen him and I’m getting really worried,” she spoke softly, trying to hold back the inevitable tears that she’d been holding in all day.

“Some of the guys are going out on a patrol to look for him…”

“I’ll go,” Y/n interrupted, grabbing her musette bag and scrambling to her feet.

“No. No. No. Bull would never forgive me if I let you get injured whilst looking for him. Not a chance Y/L/N. Stay here. I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”

She knew Johnny was right but the thought of Bull all alone, trapped and possible injured caused her heart to ache.

The next morning came too soon and with no sign of the patrol or Bull, Y/n couldn’t help the growing suspicion that something had gone terribly wrong.

She was sitting in an empty crate, counting through her medical supplies when she heard the all too familiar shout from Johnny. “BULL!”

Could it be? Was she just hearing things?

Shoving her supplies back into the musette bag she hurried over to the crowd, spying Webster and Hoobler who had gone out on last nights patrol. Then the unmissable figure of Bull Randleman appeared, his great barking laughter filled the air as he embraced Johnny and several other paratroopers.

“Bull?” She called out, stopping in her tracks. The group of paratroopers all turned to face her. Now normally at this point in the movies the girl would go running towards the man, jump into his arms and they share a passionate kiss as music plays around them. This however is real life and neither one moved. Johnny coughed and began to usher the other paratroopers away.

“Little lady,” Bull greeted her with his usual nickname, watching her cautiously as the cogs in Y/n mind seemed to turn into overdrive. Something within her snapped and she felt herself hurtling towards the large man her first raised.

“YOU IDIOT! What the hell were you thinking! You could have died!” She felt her fists hammering against his chest as she shouted, cried, screamed at him in anguish. Bull just stood still, waiting patiently for her to calm down.

“I could have lost you,” she sobbed, burying her face into his ODs. Bull quickly wrapped his large arms around her, pulling her closer to him and muffling her cries.

“Those Kraut bastards couldn’t kill me if they tried and by God did they try. I’ve got too much to live for to do something stupid like dying,” he confessed, cupping her cheek in his warm hand and bringing her face up to look her in the eyes.

“I’m sorry I made you worry. I promise I’ll try not to do it again.” He smiled and his heart swelled as she returned it with a tearful grin.

“You’d better keep that promise, Bull Randleman.”

“Anything for you Little Lady.” He looked passed her to check the others had dispersed before pulling her close again and placed a much needed kiss to her lips. The smell of tobacco was strong as she kissed him and had it been on anyone else she’d have probably pulled away for some fresh air but it made her want to kiss him more. His strong arms wrapped around her, pressing against the small of her back.

“Bull, I…”

“Shhh. For once in your life just don’t worry,” Bull comforted her but she fought against his grip.

“No Bull. I can’t give you my heart, you might break it and I don’t know if I could survive that.” Y/n felt tears welling in her eyes again and wiped her face in the grimy sleeve of her ODs.

Bull looked down at her, his eyes shining with adoration. “Oh Little Lady, I could never break your heart. I promise I’ll look after it.” Bull kissed her again, this time gentiler and slower, savouring every moment of…

“Hey Bull! Y/N! Come on, we're moving out.” Johnny called from somewhere on the road behind them and the pair couldn’t help but giggle like naughty children.

“Come on, let’s get that shoulder looked at Tough Guy.”

“Anything for you, Little Lady.”

Tags: @georgieluz @iceman-kazansky @yeahcurrahhe-e @lieutenant-speirs @sharpshootershifty @liberteuniteegalite @msmercury84 @mayhem24-7forever @blvestxr @dustyjumpwjngs @theflyingfin @jump-wings @kafka-ohdear @kmc1989 @mads-weasley @docroesmorphine @liptonsbabe @merriell-allesandro-shelton @sweetxvanixlla @hesbuckcompton-baby @ronsparky

[ravensvirginity]

Why don't you like Raven's 2018 solo? The Daughter of Darkness series i mean.

Oh my god, where do I even begin with Daughter of Darkness.

Getting the basic stuff out of the way first:

I don't like high schooler Raven. I don't think Raven in the comics should ever be under 18 and I hate that she was deaged for something like 15 years. Furthermore, Marv Wolfman specifically just does not write young teenagers well. All the scenes that try to show Raven acting like a normal teenager came off awkward to me.

Raven's design isn't my favorite and the art is just so-so so none of the panels really spoke to me.

There's this weird Christian undertone in the comic for some reason? Marv Wolfman isn't even a Christian, but I thought that Raven's family's insistence on her coming to Mass was kind of annoying and not handled the way I'd want it to be.

Connected to that, the way Arella was written was weirdly victim-blaming towards her, especially in contrast to older works of Wolfman's about her. She's painted as a rebellious child who didn't love her parents and ran away out of spite, and then had a lot of casual sex (which could be fine, but it felt like it was included just to make her look worse) before got sucked into the Trigon cult. Even though there are other things in the comic as well as in past comics that make it seem far more likely that Arella's parents were abusive to her and she ran away due to that, and joined a satanic cult due to her trauma with Christianity as well as being vulnerable and manipulated by its members.

Now, onto the biggest problem: the main plot of Raven: Daughter of Darkness is that Trigon does eugenics on his kids.

Yes, Trigon is evil and doesn't care if he hurts people, even his own children. That being said, I still think the way he acted in this comic was out of character. In NTT and in most other comics, he does have some level of fondness for his children, especially Raven. He definitely doesn't want any of them dead. In ToT, he outright mourns Raven after she's killed by the corrupted Titans and decides to destroy the entire dimension in revenge. With all that in mind, him being willing to kill Raven in order to come to Earth feels really out of character.

The 'monstrous' children of Trigon is a whole other problem. Why is he mad that his kids are turning out looking like he does??? Again, in past comics, when Raven is corrupted by him she begins to look more monstrous and resembles him. He seems to want his children to look like him, so why is it suddenly a problem? The problem doesn't seem to be that they're not fit to be soldiers or not powerful or whatever, it seems to be specifically appearance based. Why does he care?

And again, the eugenics. Just bizarre. Yeah, I guess genetically engineering women so that they can give birth to better children would be something Trigon would do, but it doesn't feel on brand for the kind of story you'd expect with Trigon. He's a demon from another dimension who does crazy feats of magic, he doesn't feel like the kind of guy who would employ a team of mad scientists. And the weird emphasis on perfect genes vs imperfect in his kids is uncomfortable and completely inconsistent with past depictions of him.

All that being said, I don't hate Raven: DoD with a passion or anything. It does have some moments I do like. Wolfman understands Raven's lore wayyyy better than most other writers (obviously, he created that lore, and even though he writes modern Raven here he still sticks to a lot of traditional Raven elements). But the overall story is not it for me.

There didn't end up being a natural place to put this with my thoughts but I wanted to mention this panel because I think it's hilarious

How is that obvious. Maybe he thinks people should just assume whenever Trigon is involved with anything it'll include his breeding kink

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 6)

Silver Spoon didn't know how to respond, gratitude, pity, compassion? So she just stood there, in silence. Until it was broken by Rarity.

“Well you can help once you're all better, right now you need to go back to your room.”

“But-”

“Go to your room young lady.” she spoke with the sternness of an older sibling. Sweetie sighed before getting up and marching back to her room. She took one last look at Silver Spoon before closing the door. Was this jealousy? She didn't like it. It felt like a sting on her brain. But she couldn't shake it off. 

Pinkie Pie sat across from Cookie Dough on the outside of her favorite cafe. This felt like an awkward first date. Her first date with Cheese hadn't been awkward at all. They danced and sang and made a fool of themselves and it was instant love. She felt none of that now. Only the cold calculation of genetic compatibility. He'd been a perfect match for her, that's what Twilight said. She was so happy she found someone so quickly. He'd ridden here from Rainbow Falls, and she hated to waste his long trip. She rattled off questions, questions he'd already answered on the profile she was given. What was his special talent? How old was he when he got his cutie mark? How did he perform in the basic earth pony fitness exam? Then some more relevant questions. Did he like baking or parties? What was his family like? Did he want to have a role in the child’s life. That last one stumped him. He sat in silence for a moment, thinking.

“I guess that depends on what you want.”

Pinkie looked down “I can't decide what I want…” but she knew what she didn't want. She didn't want to have this man’s child. She didn't want to have anyone's child other than Cheese Sandwich. She got up with a sudden burst of determination “I don't think this is going to work out.”

Cookie Dough began to say something, but she didn't hear it. She walked away and left him alone, wondering what he did wrong. Did he do anything wrong? He sighed. This was her decision, not his. 

And she had made her decision. She walked to the bakery, not bothering to say hello to the flower ponies as she passed by. She opened the doors. Cheese was alone organizing cupcakes. She walked up to him.

“I don't want anyone's baby but yours.”

He looked up at her, surprised “Pinkie… we can't.”

“Why not? We're perfectly compatible, I don't care what some blood test says!” She grabbed his face with her hooves and kissed him. “I want to raise our child. Ours. Not just mine.”

He smiled at her “ok. If that's what you want.”

Rarity heard another knock on her door. She went to answer it and saw the cheery party pony on the other side. She was holding a tray of her signature cupcakes. Rarity smiled and let her in. 

“You seem awfully happy, though I suppose that's pretty usual for you.”

“It is! But this is a special happy. It's kind of nervous and excited at the same time.” Pinkie didn't mind sharing her feelings with one of her best friends, even if she knew she'd never understand them. “But this isn't about me. This is about Sweetie Bell! I heard what happened, I thought maybe some cupcakes and a laugh would help.”

Rarity's face fell “how did you hear?”

“Pipsqueak’s dad is a regular at the bakery.” She didn't mind sharing this either, though it seemed to upset Rarity.

“Well… I suppose a few cupcakes wouldn't hurt, she does need some cheering up.” Pinkie smiled “I'll bring you to her room.”

Her room was well lit and decorated. Sweetie slept in a pile of stuffed animals soundly. Clearly her sister, for all her disapproval, still cared deeply for her. 

“Sweetie!” Rarity called in a sing song voice. Sweetie rolled over in bed but didn't make a sound to acknowledge her sister “you have a visitor.”  

That seemed to get her attention, she opened her eyes and bolted up. “Pipsqueak!?” Her face fell when she didn't see him there.

“God no” rarity huffed “I wouldn't let him into this building if he had a million jewels.”

Sweetie Bell turned to see Pinky Pie. She wasn't as excited about this visitor, but she was still happy to see a friendly face. Pinky had known about her and Pipsqueak's relationship long before rarity found out. Something about her made you want to share everything. “Hi…” she waved groggily.

Pinky Pie sat down on the edge of the bed and offered her a cupcake, which she accepted happily. “I thought you could use some cheering up.”

Sweetie Bell smiled. Her sister has been caring and loving, but not approving. Not trying to cheer her up, constantly reminding her of her mistake. That she deserved what happened to her. But in Pinkie's eyes she could tell there was something else. “Thankyou.” 

The bell on the door chimed and Rarity ran to greet her next customer, leaving Pinkie and Sweetie in the room together alone. Pinkie fed her another cupcake, which she devoured. She was so hungry, Pinkie wondered why. “I have to admit, I kind of have an alterier motive for being here.” Sweetie Bell looked at her, puzzled, with cupcake in her mouth. “I heard you got caught trying to meet a chayote.” 

Sweetie Bell swallowed her bite “I did… I promise I didn't mean to really do it. We just didn't know what else to do-” 

Pinkie held up a hoof to stop her “I'm not looking to scold you, I'm looking for your help.” 

Sweetie Bell looked down at the cupcake in her hooves. “I told Twilight everything I knew. We never met with anyone, just started getting letters one day.”

“You hadn't told anyone about your pregnancy?” Sweetie Bell looked down nervously “please, this is important. Cheese has an appointment next week.”

“We did tell one person…” Pinkie looked at her with pleading, hopeful eyes “we went to Zecora. We thought maybe she could terminate the pregnancy early enough that we wouldn't get caught.”

“She couldn't?” Pinkie was surprised, Zecora could do amazing things with her magical herbs. 

Sweetie Bell shook her head. “She wouldn't. She said she'd only do it if we really didn't want the child, and we couldn't convince her. We got our first letter the next day.”

Pinkie smiled “thankyou Sweetie Bell, thankyou so much. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Sweetie Bell looked down “I have some idea…” 

[soldierandawar]

I have so many questions. I know that Luca directed Daniel and Drew to act on ''love'' and that they love each other. Did you feel like Eugene loved Lee? I know that in the book, Lee pays for his trip and in return, has to ''give'' him sex, which feels pretty unromantic and not much of a love story plot to me. What did you think of Eugene as a character? Did you see him as queer, bi-curious? I have heard plenty of people say that he switches on a dime, going from being ''open'' to being cold and nochalant. What di you make of that, did you see it as him struggleing to accept his sexuality/being disgusted or something else?

Full transparency, I have not read the book, so this is all based on the movie and what I could gather from it. Also, spoilers, obviously.

Before I get into whether or not it's a love story, I'll talk about Eugene's sexuality. The film essentially confirms that he's queer (I would say bisexual). He has a connection with a woman, Mary, who is set up (without any speaking lines, mind you) to be Lee's opposite. When Eugene isn't spending time with Lee, he's with Mary. We never actually see them kiss, but they have affectionate touches, and there's intimacy there. Mary (again. without speaking, lol) also seems to want to challenge Lee. She knows he wants Eugene and is a little smug about having his attention when Lee doesn't. I think Eugene was struggling with his sexuality, which is also mildly touched on at the end when they go on their trip. During a bizarre sequence, he tells Lee, "I'm not queer. I'm disembodied." their guide, a doctor who helped them with the ayahuasca, tells him he should stay and asks him what he's afraid of. That's the last time Lee sees him.

I think the goal was to tell a love story, but the film's lowest point is its inability to capture the intimacy and love between Eugene and Lee. The focus is on Lee's obsession and longing for companionship, which then turns into longing for Eugene. The reason that Lee wants to do this experimental drug (it was the 50s, lol) is so that he can speak to Eugene without words, which he says as much to him in a scene where he passes out at a party after Eugene spent a few weeks ignoring him. He bribes Eugene with this trip, saying, "You can service me twice a week," and Eugene avoids him on it until Lee is like, "I'll literally buy this bar so that you'll have a tab with me and can't ignore me." (paraphrasing). Once they're on the trip, Eugene spends most of it taking care of Lee withdrawing from Heroin. They spend a lot of time together, obviously, but they only have sex once, and Eugene pushes Lee to the floor when he tries to have sex with him again. then, he's in the middle of the forest trying ayahuasca with him after not showing an interest in drugs the entire movie, and he says the "I'm not queer. I'm disembodied." line, which is carried over from an earlier scene in which Lee says it. In the end, we learn that he ran back to South America with some other older man and was planning on meeting up with Lee again (though he never did).

All that to say, I think Eugene was in love with Lee and afraid of his feelings and sexuality, but because the story doesn't care about Eugene, it's hard to tell. Drew Starkey says a total of 40 lines, maybe more. He doesn't really get any chance to do anything until the end, and this bizarre sequence looks amazing (was he a dancer? Cause he's got the body), and then he's shipped off. it's a shame.

I know that Luca is a director that people either love or hate (i like him), but he was just jerking himself off with this one, more concerned with his talent than the substance. it disappoints me because the thing I like about him is that he's good at finding the connection between his actors and capturing that. he did it well in Bones and All and Challengers, movies that are also IMO about longing and love and the different ways they exist, but ehhhhh. 2.5 from me. hopefully, this answers your question?

[josefavomjaaga]

Hi, i have seen in one of your posts that once Napoleon intended to take Eugene's family hostage. Why was that? Their relationship is always potrayed as good so why would be plan to threaten his stepson. I always had a feeling that napoleon's relationship with his stepkids are not as amazing as potrayed

(Now look at me. Barely three weeks have passed, and I'm already getting back to you... I'm sorry. I suck.)

I've written a bit about this before, so with your permission, I will mostly summarize and link to older posts for the details.

For context: This happened in late February 1814, with allied forces invading both France (where Napoleon was) and Italy (that Eugène obstinately had refused to leave). But it goes back to autumn 1813, when German newspapers openly started to speculate about Napoleon's two "Italians" - Murat in Naples and Eugène in Milan - both abandonning Napoleon and joining the Allies.

To some degree, spreading such rumours surely was a deliberate political move, an attempt to sow distrust among the enemy. (And it worked. Hortense already wrote about offers being made to Eugène weeks before he actually received them...) But to some degree, they were based on facts. Murat really was negotiating with the Austrians and would come to an agreement with them. And after the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, Eugène's father in law King Max of Bavaria had spoken very much in favour of his son-in-law and tried to score a few points for him with the Allies. Resulting in the offer made to Eugène in November 1813 ("leave Napoleon, get a crown!") that Eugène, however, refused.

But the distrust in the French camp seems to have been very real. In some aspects, Eugène may have looked like the most likely candidate to leave Napoleon's side:

Napoleon had dumped Josephine.

Napoleon had broken his promise to make Eugène the heir to the Kingdom of Italy.

Eugène had been very irritated about the way Napoleon critisized his actions in Germany in spring 1813.

Eugène was related to one of the monarchs in the Allied camp, even best buddies with his father-in-law, and likely to be received well among the Allies, probably better than Murat.

So when Eugène did not immediately follow Napoleon's order to evacuate Italy (no matter his reasons), Napoleon already felt the need to bring out the heavy emotional artillery: Both Josephine and Hortense were told to write to Eugène and to tell him to obey to this order (an order that neither of the two ladies had any knowledge of, by the way). This in turn wounded Eugène deeply; he felt that, while he was doing everything in his power to help Napoleon, and refusing very real advantages offered to him for the sake of loyalty, he met with nothing but distrust and ingratitude.

So, Napoleon in Paris thought: "The boy is up to something down there in Milan, he's going his own ways, I cannot control him as I would love to." And Eugène in Milan thought: "The Emperor is ungrateful, and no matter what I do and how often I prove my loyalty to him, he will never believe me, let alone thank me for anything I do."

Let's add that Auguste, Eugène's beloved wife, was pregnant again. And briefly after the letters Josephine and Hortense had written to him, that he clearly saw as a sign of Napoleon's distrust, Eugène received the following missive from his Imperial stepfather:

Napoleon to Eugène. Château de Surville close to Montereau. February 19, 1814 My son, the vice queen must immediately go to Paris for her delivery; my intention being that under no circumstances she should remain in a country occupied by the enemy: therefore, make her leave immediately. [...]

Frankly, when I read that order in the course of Eugène's correspondence, right after the incidents explained above, my first understanding was precisely like theirs: that Napoleon wanted to get a hold of Auguste and the children, in order to assure Eugène's obedience.

If that really was Napoleon's intention? I do not know. Quite possibly not. He was always telling women to come to Paris in order to have their babies. Josephine and Hortense had already asked if Auguste would leave endangered Italy and come to Paris. But such an explicit and abrupt order, in that tense situation, did indeed look like a threat. Plus, Eugène and Auguste may have had a bit of a bad conscience, too, as Eugène had contacted the Austrians and asked them to guarantee the personal security of his family in case something happened to him - and that was something he apparently had not told Napoleon about. Napoleon most likely had learned of it anyway.

Anyway, this resulted in an exasperated Auguste writing a letter to Napoleon, in which she finally allowed herself to let loose all her grievances against him, on behalf of herself and on behalf of her husband. I have quoted it in full in the course of this post. Here are some highlights:

Auguste to Napoleon. Milan, February 27, 1814. Sire, Eugène has just communicated to me the order given to him by Your Majesty: it surprised me greatly, for I did not expect that after all the proofs of attachment Eugène never ceases to give you, you would also demand of him to risk the health and even the life of his wife and children, the only asset and consolation he has in this world. If he does not speak on this occasion, it is for me to do so.

("If he doesn't speak up on this occasion" - insert a slightly annoyed "as usual" 😁.)

Without doubt I know his and my duties towards Your Majesty. We have demonstrated this to you often enough, and we have never failed to do so; our conduct is known to all; we do not resort to intrigue, and we have no other guides than honour and virtue. It is a sad fact that our reward has been nothing but sorrow and mortification [...] What have I done to deserve such a harsh order of departure? When I got married, I never thought that things would come to this. [...]

Remember all the bullshit you promised me in Munich in 1806? Well, I do!

In spite of this I will obey your orders, I will leave Milan if the enemies should come here; but my duty, my heart, makes it a law not to leave my husband, and, since you demand that I risk my health, I want at least to have the consolation of ending my days in the arms of the one who possesses all my tenderness and who makes all my happiness. Whatever his fate will be, I will share it, and it will always be worthy of envy, since we will be able to say to each other that we have deserved a happier one, and that we will have a conscience without reproach. [...]

Napoleon's reaction to this missive (and a similar from Eugène) seems genuinely confused (see the link above) - "What's up with you two? What have I done this time? All I said was: Come to Paris!" - so maybe he really never had the intention Auguste and Eugène read in this order.

But who knows. If there was ever a human who qualified as a "political animal", it was Napoleon.

I hope this is still of interest to you after all the time it took me to come up with this answer, and thank you once more for your interest in "the boy".

[cowinatrenchcoat]

I'd never approached this train of thought from a Christian purity standpoint but had definitely noticed the need on the left to agree (aggressively) on all things and a disagreement resulting in being permanently outcast from the group with no opportunity for change.

I've seen this with Dr. Seuss most recently! I was having a benign conversation with family on children's books and a family member who is frequently on tik tok and identifies as far left said with a surprising degree of emotion that they would never allow anything Dr. Seuss in their home EVER because, "he was an awful, vocal supporter of eugenics." Since this info surprised me I looked it up and all I could find was during WWII he made political cartoons in favor of Japanese internment and generally racist against Japanese people. Pretty much all of his political cartoons otherwise were leftist, anti-natzi, anti-isolationism. Clearly the racist content is bad, but it's not exactly eugenics.

We have no explicit written statements from Seuss saying "I disavow these comics" but we do know in the 50s he went to Japan and then wrote Horton Here's a Who (the message of which is "a person's a person no matter how small") and that work is largely considered to be a walk-back of how he had originally portrayed Japanese people in his political cartoons. There was also a letter he wrote expressing some degree of regret or at least an openness to criticism of his political cartoons calling them poorly drawn, hastily made, and full of not so great hot takes.

Now, all of that was a lot and doesn't even touch on the nuance of what Seuss must have been feeling as a Jewish American during WWII right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Does my family member know any of that? Did they even try to fact check? Would any of the nuance matter to them? No idea, they very much do not seem open to hearing any question or nuance on it at the time.

I mentioned they were leftist, but why did I mention tik tok? Because what they said sounded like a verbatim prompt. And not a week later an older coworker mentioned her son having this same opinion of Seuss and when I asked what he said, she said nearly word for word what my family member had parroted. Reminding me very much of what my mother sounds like when regurgitating what she reads on Facebook posts.

All this to say, I'd never thought of the black and white hardling and zero room disagreement on any topic from a culture of Christian purity perspective and it's certainly shedding a fascinating new light.

I genuinely believe that a lot of the reason that the American left is so ineffectual and self-sabotaging is because of how deeply and unrepentantly calvinist it is.

[five-rivers]

Ancestral 3

“Maddie!”

Danny saw Maddie go completely rigid just before Joanna - Princess Joanna, who was second in line for the throne after Matthew - slammed into her.  

Joanna was a few years older than Danny’s parents, and very pretty, in a sort of faded way.  Her hair was a slightly-graying strawberry blonde, and every part of her was thin in a way that spoke of chronic worry.  

“Thank all the ancestors that you’ve gotten here safely.  If something happened to you, too, I don’t know how I’d stand it, after everything else.”  She pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes.  “Do you know what happened?  No one will tell me anything, but I don’t know if it’s because they don’t know, or…”  She trailed off.  

Living so far away, and with Maddie intent on not getting involved in the family business, Danny didn’t know the details of family drama.  Maybe he could have at least gotten the outsider perspective from tabloids, but that seemed… wrong.  However, even he could do a little math and figure out that Joanna had only been seventeen when she had Eugene.  

The rest of the family not trusting her was… not reasonable, but not without a reason, even if that reason was twenty-six years old.  Mostly, though, he’d always felt that it was sad.  

“I don’t know, either,” said Maddie.  “Are you the only one here, or…?”

She looked around the foyer, as if expecting more family members to appear out of thin air.  In her defense, the foyer was rather large and had many expensive-looking pieces of furniture and art in it. 

Also, there were ghosts there.  Two of them, a man and a woman.  Watching.  

Danny caught the woman’s eye, and watched her twitch in surprise.  She tilted her head sideways, her braids swinging, the edge of her gown twisting like smoke, and pressed her hand against her chest, slowly, deliberately, as if asking a question.  

Can you see me?

Danny debated the merits of responding, but…  He didn’t think he could pretend not to see them the whole time he was here.  He nodded, minutely.  

The ghost frowned, deeply, and backed out of the room, through the wall.  

“... Sir John is in the hospital for shock, and we’re still waiting on Alicia,” finished Joanna, wringing her hands.  “But except for Eugene and I, I don’t think anyone has slept for well over a day, so they’re all in bed.  I’m worried about Matthew, honestly.  I think the Assembly is going to bully him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” said Maddie, who had stepped back out of Joanna’s hug range.  

“I hope you’re right,” said Joanna.  “I really do.  He’s not made for politics.”

From Maddie’s expression, she clearly didn’t agree.  “Joanna–”

“I know what you’re thinking, but those are businesses.  It’s different.”

“Hm,” said Maddie, noncommittally.  

“Oh, and you’re all probably exhausted, too.”  For the first time, Joanna acknowledged the rest of the Fentons.  “Your flight was just as long as mine, but I couldn’t calm down enough to rest.”

Maddie nodded.  “I can understand that.  Do you know where we’re staying, while we’re here?  Which rooms we’re using.”

“I think everyone just took what wasn’t already occupied.  Lewis and Leo are sharing, though.  I think with their sister missing…  I mean, if it was Matthew, I’d be beside myself.”  She swallowed.  “Maddie?”

“Yes?” said Maddie, with forced patience.

“Are you going to try the Trials?  Or are–  I suppose Jasmine and Daniel–”

“No,” said Maddie.  “You know how I feel about that– that nonsense.”

“But the ancestors–”

“Ghosts are no one’s ancestors,” interrupted Maddie, sharply.  She clenched her jaw.  “Six of the most protected citizens of Avlynys are dead–”

“Maddie,” Jack tried to interject.  

“-one is missing, and I’ll bet you anything they were poking around some ill-advised ritual when it happened, making nice with soulless abominations pretending to be ‘ancestor spirits.’  I warned them, after Mom and Dad–”  She cut herself off and shook her head.  “You’d think they would have learned!  That they would have listened.  Maybe then they wouldn’t be dead, too!”

Mr. Kynbaz entered the foyer, an attempt at a smile on his face.  “We’ve got all your luggage in your rooms if you want to–”

Joanna ran out of the room crying.  Mr. Kynbaz stared after her for a minute, then fixed a disapproving gaze on Maddie.  

“It’s the end of my shift, Princess,” he said.  “If I stay up much longer, my effectiveness will start to drop.  You know how to contact me.”

Maddie gave a brief, imperious nod, and exited through the door opposite the one Joanna had run through.  Jack 

Mr. Kynbaz looked conflicted, but in the end, he shook his head.  “Stay safe, Master Daniel, Miss Jasmine.”  He left.

Jazz sighed.  “Great.  So.  I’ll make sure that they don’t…”  she trailed off.  “You know what I mean.”

Danny did know what she meant.  Jack and Maddie could find trouble anywhere.  Or make it.  

“Will you look after…?” she tilted her head toward the door Joanna had run through.  

“Yeah,” said Danny.  He took one last look at the ghost man, and went to look for Joanna.  

Should he have told Jazz about the ghosts?  Yeah.  Maybe.  But he was coming off an eight hour long flight.  He was tired.  

He stepped into a hallway lined with landscape and still life paintings that were probably worth thousands of dollars - or maybe they were just random.  Danny didn’t know anything about Martin’s choice in decorations.  

The ghost woman from earlier stepped out of the wall, making him jump.  She pointed down the hallway, then flew away to point at a specific door.  Feeling cautious, Danny approached.  

“Anything you wanted to tell me, or…?”

The ghost pointed at the door again.  

Well.  If it was booby-trapped, he’d probably survive.  

He opened the door.  

Behind it, was a well-appointed and spotless kitchen.  And Joanna.  Who was still crying, even while attempting to make a pot of tea.  She seemed to be having trouble with the lid on the kettle.

“Here,” said Danny, “let me help.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I can at least boil water,” said Danny, taking the kettle from her.  “Why don’t you, um, sit down?”

Joanna blinked tearfully at him.  “Alright,” she said.  “Thank you.”  She sniffled.  “I know no one much cares for me.  They think I’m irresponsible and untrustworthy, and Maddie and Alicia have been nice about that, but ever since her parents died, she’s been so angry about ghosts.  I understand it, but…”  She looked at Danny beseechingly.  “The people we’ve lost watch over us.  Isn’t that something we should embrace?  Isn’t it a comfort?”

“Um,” said Danny.  “I don’t– I haven’t really thought about it, too much.”

“Oh,” said Joanna, disappointed.  

“I guess I don’t…”  He chewed over his words.  “Mom’s never really talked about what happened to her parents,” he said.  “Do you… know anything?”

“Oh,” said Joanna again, wiping away tears, “well, they didn’t die at the same time.  It was…  Are you sure you want to hear about this?  Now?”

“I don’t know when else I’d learn about it, honestly.”  Something about the way everything was going right now made Danny feel doubtful that they’d be visiting Avlynys all too regularly in the future. 

“Alright, well… I was pregnant with Eugene at the time, so I never really got all the details.  Uncle Leon was taking the Trials, and there was an accident…  It really was an accident, not- not– Some people said it was a sign of the spirits’ disfavor, but it wasn’t.  I think it was something about, um, construction materials that hadn’t been put away properly.”  She nodded.  “Yes, that was it.  We’re always fixing things, you know.  Someone had left construction things in Andyr, and Leon had run into them…  Because the Trials are supposed to take time, no one went looking for him until it was too late.”

“Where’s Andyr?”

“The tunnels beneath Kyr Argyn,” said Joanna.  She managed a very watery smile.  “There’s a legend that you can use them to get to the other islands, even.  I’d say I’m surprised you don’t know about them, but I can’t blame your mother for not wanting to talk about it.  They’re supposed to be haunted.  The ghosts…  I suppose you don’t want to hear about that, either?  You and your sister were very adamant that you didn’t believe in them when you were younger.”

“I don’t mind,” said Danny with a shrug, glancing at the other ghosts around the room.

“Well, they’re supposed to be closer to things down there.  Not that Uncle Leon got very far.”  She shook her head.  “Then, Aunt Maria walked off a cliff.”

Danny startled.  “She killed herself?”

“I don’t know.  She’d been saying things about seeing Uncle Leon…  I think Grandfather hoped it was a real vision, really his ghost, but…  In the end, I think she was just too lonely, without him.”  She shook her head.  “A terrible thing to do to Alicia and Maddie.  I wasn’t surprised when they decided to stay in America.”

Every part of that story was suspicious on so many levels, made worse by even more silent ghosts starting to show up.  Danny wanted to scream.  

“But Maddie was convinced that some kind of shape-shifting monster had- had stolen Uncle Leon’s face and lured her mother over that cliff.  I know spirituality isn’t for everyone, but Maddie’s doing more than rejecting it, she’s…”  Joanna trailed off, seeming to remember who she was talking to.  “I don’t mean anything bad by it.”

“It’s okay,” said Danny, starting to look for teacups or mugs in the kitchen’s numerous cupboards.  He decided to take a risk.  “I know not all ghosts are bad.”

“That’s a relief,” said Joanna.  

“You don’t think anything like that happened this time, though, do you?”

“Everyone’s been telling me they can’t even figure out a cause of death.”  She stared at the teapot.  “For six people… it has to be poison, doesn’t it?  Or some kind of miniature bullet.  I… can’t believe it was a ghost.  Our ancestors would protect us, if nothing else.”

The ghosts around her nodded.  

“Right,” said Danny.  He found the teacups and took two out.  “Do you… know what they were doing when it happened?  When they… died?”

“The tea is here,” said Joanna, lifting a package.  Once Danny took it, she answered his question.  “They were doing the planning for the Moon Masque, I think.  Martin… Martin had been texting me about it.”

“Moon Masque?”

“You haven’t been here for one since you were little, have you?  I forget…  A masque is a kind of costume party, but there’s a performance, too, and choreographed music and dancin…  A bit like a pageant.”

“Like a Christmas pageant?”

Joanna lifted a hand and tilted it back and forth.  “Somewhat.  It’s mostly a tourist attraction, now, but the Trials touch on it, too.  Vivian was thinking about taking them–”

The kettle began to whistle, and Danny quickly took it off the stove.  

“Do you know who else was there, at the… planning session?  Meeting?  Conference?”

Joanna giggled a little, but it was still very watery.  “Half of Myrgyn was probably there, between planners, nobles, and contractors.  It’s a big thing.”  She slumped.  “It probably won’t happen now.  There’s a lot of things that won’t happen now.”

Yeah.  Even when someone came back as a ghost, it wasn’t the same as being alive.  Danny sometimes, when everything was hard and terrible, felt like he’d rather have died in the portal… but the truth was that he’d been incredibly lucky.  Life - and the opportunities that came with it - was precious.  

He poured the tea into the cups.  Joanna took hers quickly.  

“I think,” she said, “that I had better get some rest myself.  Maybe then I won’t burst into tears at Maddie, hm?”

“It wasn’t your fault,” said Danny.  

“I don’t think it was anyone’s fault,” said Joanna.  “Except whoever…”  She trailed off, shaking her head hard.  “You’ll be alright down here alone?”

Danny wasn’t alone at all.  “I’ll find my way to a bed when I need to.”

“Alright, then,” said Joanna.  “I’ll see you later.”

Danny watched her go.  

Now to solve the haunted house problem.  He turned to look at the ghosts.  “Hi."

[j-diamond]

Score (Flynn x Reader)

   “Flynn, we’ve been rowing for,” you pause looking around, "for nearly forever!” You sigh, “Flynn, where are we going?”     “Somewhere.” He pauses looking at what you assumed was a compass, “anywhere.” He meets your inquisitive eyes and slumps, “Nowhere.” You pause, irritation beginning to settle in.    “Flynn Ryder!” You throw the oars into the bottom of the boat, “I freaking knew it!” You groan, letting your frustration publicly be known. After a long pause you sigh, “Flynn.” He looks at you, puppy dog eyes at the ready. You chuckle softly at him, “I can’t lie, this is gonna severely impact your heisting score.” His face falls,   “You can’t be serious!!” He asks, searching your face for an ounce of insincerity. You raise an eyebrow at his antics and he slumps again, “But I got the goods.” He grabs his satchel, revealing the stolen goods as if it would illustrate his point. :this is 24 karat gold!” You shrug,   “What good is all that if we’re stranded? Definitely deducting major points.” Your face softens and you smile, “Listen I know you’re trying.” You caress his face, “But I won’t always be here and-”   “What’s that supposed to mean?” He interrupts, his eyes catching your own. You raise your eyebrow,   “What do you mean?” You look at him, genuine confusion on his face, “The bounty on my head is significantly larger than yours. At a certain amount, it’ll become way too dangerous for me to be around you. At that point I’d have to leave you on your own.” Your face falls when you see his,   “Why would you have to leave me?” He asks, a whirlwind of emotions swirling through his eyes, the main one you’re able to read as concern.

  “I’m sorry?” Your brows forough, “You’re my best friend Eugene.” Your pause trying to collect your thoughts, “And I care for you deeply. We’ve been through thick and thin for almost three years now. Basically since the orphanage.” Both of your breaths hitch at the shared memory, “If at any point my existence threatens your wellbeing, I’ll cease association.” You sneak a look at him, only to see his eyes nearly glazed over. You immediately look away, “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me, I couldn’t live with myself should that happen.” He grabs your hands, commanding your attention,   “But I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt, and I wasn’t there to stop it.” His grip tightens, “And you may be more experienced, and older- only by a few weeks,” you chuckle at that, “But I think-” he pauses, “No, I know.” You watch his eyes looking at your hands in his, “I love you.” He lessens his grip, “and anything I do, I want to do with you.” He smirks, placing a kiss on your hands. “If you’re up for it, that is.” It’s your turn to stare at your hands, as a smile graces your face. You try to sneak a glance, only to make direct eye-contact. Your thoughts are calmed by the feeling of one of his hands glossing your cheek. You must’ve been crying. “So, with that being said, Y/n Stabbington, will you be willing to give yourself the honor of me being your boyfriend?” You chuckle, the mood shifting from his smug sense of wording.   “Woah, The Flynn Rider, begging to be my boyfriend? If we weren’t in the middle of nowhere, you’d be drawing a crowd.” You put your finger to your chin, feigning being in deep thought, “Seeing as I have nothing better to do. Sure, why not? You can be honored by being my boyfriend.”   “Well aren’t you kind?” He quips, rolling his eyes, “May I, your lowly, but handsome, newfound boyfriend receive a kiss from thy royal highness?” You roll your eyes, nevertheless you meet him halfway. Your lips collide, and a feeling of completion washes over you. Everything just seemed to fit into the right place. You pull apart, “see that wasn’t so bad”   “Not so bad, but pretty bad.” You smirk, “But I’m willing to help you practice.”

“Eighty-four.” You whisper begrudgingly.   “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that? Could you say that a bit louder?” He says, flaunting that same smirk, the one you find yourself mirroring, “Fourty-eight.” You say confidently, watching his face fall momentarily, “Which, in case you hadn’t known, is not a passing score.” You pretend to look bummed. “Wait. NO! My score was eighty-four. I distinctly remember you saying that earlier.” He argues, and you raise an eyebrow,   “So why did you ask again?”   “I just wanted to confirm that I passed.”   “Mhm. Suure.” You roll your eyes at his behavior. “Not that it matters much though.” He looks at you, waiting for you to elaborate. “That score just means I trust you enough to be in charge of our heists. Doesn’t mean you’re actually good at heisting.” You smirk at him, and he mimics your face in a playful manner,   “Ha, ha, ha.” He says dryly, “just admit you love me and you think I’m a good thief now.”   “Well, I can say that I do love you…” you start, as you approach your hideout, “Not sure about that second part.” He rolls his eyes at you as you two, sneak to the basement where you hid all your treasure.   “And I love you too.” He smiles, as he pulls you in for a quick kiss. “That’s all that really matters isn’t it?” A light blush settles on your cheeks, as you find yourself at a loss for words. “Cute.” Your eyes widen as you playfully hit him.   “Anyways, I think we’re nearly there.” You survey your different piles of goods, “Pretty soon I think we’ll have enough to finally have a nice quiet place on a private island or something.” He nods,   “A private island, all to ourselves.” He reminisces, “and by ourselves I do mean us, not your brothers.” You pull a fake shocked expression,   “What? I can’t take Sideburns or Patchy with us?” You ask, pretending to feel sad at the news,     “You don’t trust my older brothers?” He roll his eyes at your behavior,   “I trust them as far as I can throw them.” He goes to sit at his desk, as he begins looking at floor plans. “Anyways, if we can manage to steal this crown, we’ll finally be set.” You nod,   “Or we can just leave it alone. That’s the only thing they have to remember their lost daughter.” You suggest as you removed your blue vest, placing it on your chair. You didn’t really like the idea of traveling to Corona. He turns around to look at you, an eyebrow raised,   “Sentimental are we?” He teases,   “No, it’s just Corona is the place where my bounty originated, I’m pretty sure they have my face planted everywhere.” You walk over to a pile and pull out a larger bejeweled necklace, “This was their queens. I’d rather not return there. Plus they behead their prisoners…” His hands go his neck and he gulps,   “You know, I don’t even think that crown is worth much anyway.” He says as he pushes the plans aside. The sound of knocking startles you and you look at Flynn.   “I’ll get the door. It’s probably my brothers.” You say and he grunts. You roll your eyes at him as you finally approach the door, “Hello?” You open the door to find a piece of paper. You sigh, as you hear Flynn approaching.   “What is it?” He asks and you show him the paper, “you can’t be serious?” Anger laces his tone, and you nod,   “They’re my brothers.” You say through gritted teeth, “and as much as both of us dislike them, I have to rescue them.” He sighs as he grabs his satchel,   “We have to rescue them.” He gives you a quick peck as you head out, “though they’re gonna owe us big, forcing us to travel to Corona.” You nod in agreement.

  “I don’t care. We’re taking that crown.” Flynn states angrily as he paces the room, “They took the only person who I cared about from me, and so I will take that crown. Then they’ll have nothing to remember their precious princess by.” The brothers share a look,   “Only because Y/n trusted you.” Sideburns says, and Patchy nods in agreement,   “It’s going to take at least two years, to have solid plans.” Flynn gives them a desperate look,   “I don’t care how long it takes. I am getting that crown.” He looks at your now empty chair. The only thing sitting there now was your blue vest. He places his hand on it, tears slowly rolling down his face. If this was the only way to honor your memory, then he swore he’d never take it off.

[imanalbertross]

I'm gonna add a copy paste of my previous post on this:

Most of the optional ships I have seen/read/heard of for Varian that are not Hugo or maybe Nuru, though to me she reads incredibly lesbian, are really huge proships. I am, of course, talking about cannon characters (You wanna ship him with an OC, go ahead. I don't have to approve but I can remember being young and wishing I had an OC to give my favorite boy-things). For the most part, the characters that are available to him are of a significant age-gap and power-gap, and that's not a good thing.

I feel like it needs to be remembered that so many of these women/men being shipped with him (though in the lists I've seen that don't include Hugo, the only guy they really offer is Eugene, so still a huge proship) are adults. Which is point number 1. No matter who that person is- Cassandra, Rapunzel, Eugene, whoever- going after the 14 year old, even after a gap of time to allow him to age, would be considered grooming.

Why? Well, largely because of just the three I named, they met him as a child (yes, fourteen year olds still count as children in the eyes of the law) and he had sort of a hero-worship attitude for them at first. He had a full on crush on Cass, respected Raps for being a princess and also the fact that she really thinks his alchemy is cool- which seems to be rare in his world-, and Eugene was probably his first gay crush. That puts them in a position to use that respect he has for them in their favor to gain his interest.

So, Cassarian/Cassandrian has a woman literally almost ten years older than him coming back and getting into a relationship with a person she knows had a crush on her when he was a child makes dating him in the future abusive. The reason for this is because she is leveraging this information to get a relationship based on a child’s feelings, which is super creepy. If this was a male YouTuber and a fan, you wouldn’t be shipping this.

Rapunzel is a princess, and knew she was when she met him, so she gets the Cass rundown plus the fact that the power balance between them is insane. Let not even mention the fact that those two are so high in the sibling vibes category that it makes it an extra step of creepy. And is anyone actually shipping Eugene with him? I kind of feel like that’s a fake ship that angry people use as an example of why we shouldn’t have gays in kids’ shows.

The second point is that most of the other characters that end up on those lists are either small children- like 10-12, and he’s 14-16. I don’t know if you know this, but Varian is kind of an exception to the rule, when it comes to 16 year olds hanging out with younger kids. He’s still learning to friend, which is how he ends up with such a diverse group of friends.

I’ve seen Vex in these lists, and she barely wanted anything to do with the main group, and Varian’s villain schtick wasn’t who he really was. We all have a villain arc as people, and seldom is it the person we long to be or would be on purpose if given the choice. Usually, like Varian, we end up pretty ashamed of that part of our lives. But the characters listed that don’t know him probably wouldn’t want that kind of a relationship with him, nor would they be likely to hold similar desires and ideals- this kind of thing can be a deal breaker in relationships.

This said, we also kind of need to talk about leaving Hugo off the list. Is this because he’s from a program that was denied by Disney? Possibly, but it needs to be said. If you want to post about partners for Varian, you need to state “out of the canon characters” because, honey, there are so many non-canon choices. Hugo is just the one that the writers chose. Which is kind of important too, since they built him. They know Varian better than we do.

Being anti about gay ships but fine with straight proships is a rant for another day. But I got to a point with Cassarian that I just needed to point out the genuine nope surrounding it.

Let us ship Varian with Cassandra, Rapunzel, Eugene, Catalina, Red, Vex, Faith, Hubert, Nuru, Ariana and Lady Caine.

Everything is healthier for Varian than that unsympathetic, selfish creep Hugo.

okay. even if hugo was a 'unsympathetic selfish creep", shipping varian with a BUNCH OF ADULTS would NOT BE HEALTHIER.

lets say youre right. lets say hugo SUCKS. (he doesnt) lets say he treats varian like ABSOLUTE CRAP. (he doesn't)

shipping varian with adults will always, ALWAYS be worse.

hugo's not a creep. not selfish. not unsympathetic. do you know anything about this show?

the bottom line is that VARIAN IS A MINOR. varian should not be shipped with a bunch of adults to fulfill your creepy porn fantasies.

YOU dont have the right to age him up. YOU are sick. YOU need help.

hugo is ONE YEAR OLDER THAN VARIAN. they're in a CANON RELATIONSHIP. they're both CONSENTING ADULTS.

cassandra is MANY YEARS OLDER THAN VARIAN. theyre BARELY IN A CANON FRIENDSHIP. she is the ONLY CONSENTING ADULT. varian is a CHILD.

PEDOPHILIA IS WRONG!!

and next time, leave me one long message instead of a bunch of tiny stupid ones.

(btw you cannot expect anyone to take you seriously when youre hiding behind anonymous, you creepy sick fucking disgusting pedo enjoyer)

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 9)

Pinkie must have fallen asleep again. Cheese Sandwich nudged her side to awaken her. They had arrived. She walked out onto the station walkway and looked over at the large red sand and stone mountain in front of her. There were several entrances, clearly the tunnels left over from mining operations. 

“Alright y'all.” Pinkie looked up, recognizing the voice, but found it belonging to a southern apple mare around AppleJack’s age. “You'll need to follow me through the caverns. Please keep up pace, it’s easy to get lost.” She looked over the crowd “is anyone here pregnant?” a younger unicorn in the back raised her hoof. She notiply didn't have anyone else here with her. The apple mare nodded her head “Apple Bloom, can you help her?” Pinkie turned at the name. There she saw Apple Bloom, her yellow coat had been stained around her hooves by the red dirt. Apple Bloom noticed her too, and smiled and waved, but walked over to the pregnant unicorn. It had been maybe five years since the apple family went missing. She looked so much older, so much more mature. Still very much a young mare, but an adult. She had lost her child-like glow and it had been replaced by a clear sense of purpose. Pinkie Pie didn't know how to feel about that… they were corraled into the mines. Following the apple mare, who's name was Apple Rhubarb, through the tunnels. Up and down, left and right, she was right about it being easy to get lost. Pinkie realized that that must have been by design, why they picked this place. No one would be able to get in unless they knew the way already. They continued down the various mineshafts for about half an hour before finally seeing light. Not sun light, not really, but an imitation created for the pocket dimension this cave had been made into. There was running water, an orchard of apple trees and a series of small buildings to the left, a schoolhouse and a playground to the right. It was definitely larger than the cave was. She stood there, in shock, looking at it. The safe zones had been described as nothing more than encampments on the outer borders, raided by dragons and wild animals regularly, with no access to healthcare or education. Pinkie felt a slight push behind her as Apple Bloom indicated for her to move forward, she was holding back the line behind her. “S-sorry.” She quickly went with Cheese Sandwich to continue the tour. Every building was bigger on the inside. The living quarters particularly so. It was designed like a Manehattan appartment building, with several stories and individual rooms for each family. How much magic did it take to make this place? It seemed like only an alicorn could do it, but no princess would be caught dead helping the apple road. 

“What are you doing?” Sweetie Bell walked into the room where Silver Spoon was trying desperately to sew a straight line. 

“Oh,” Silver Spoon turned around, removing her hoof from the petal in order to stop the machine from running “sorry, did I wake you?”

Sweetie Bell sighed and laid down on the couch. There were already bloodstains from when she first got home that night after the procedure, rarity said she'd just get a new cover once everything was squared away. “Don't worry about it, I was already awake.” She tilted her head quizzically “are you sewing?”

“Trying to” Silver Spoon held up her meeger attempt at a dress based on one of Rarity’s patterns.

“Why? Not like you'll need the money, pretty sure Twilight will keep her little experiment well take care of.”

Spoon winced at that, but shook it off. “I'm just trying to see if there's anything I'm good at.”

Sweetie Bell smiled “like a cutie mark crusader.”

Silver Spoon turned her head “what?”

“The cutie mark crusaders. That's what we called ourselves when we started looking for our cutie marks. Tried just about everything we could to get them.” She rolled over “you're pretty lucky to be born with it.”

“Yeah… lucky…” Silver Spoon looked back at the sewing project “at least you actually got to discover yours. You got to know your special talent. I don't even have one, all this stupid spoon means is that I was born rich.”

Sweetie Bell looked cross as she thought for a moment “you must have a special talent, everyone does.”

Spoon lowered her gaze to the floor and shrugged “I don't.”

“It's not fair.” Sweetie sat up “why do you get to have kids? Why do you get to be better than me? If you don't even have a talent then-” she stopped when she realized Silver Spoon had begun crying.

“I'm sorry. I really am.” She wiped away some of her tears with the dress “I don't know. I don't think I want this anymore.”

“You're… you can just tell Twilight that, she'll understand. Put the whole experiment on lock. You don't have to go through with it.”

Silver Spoon sighed “I think I do… I know everyone acts like the breeders are better than everyone else and get all this choice and freedom, but I don't think that's true. Not for me. And how many surrogates and sperm donors could there possibly be? I mean, really. There can't be that many people willing to have kids that aren't their own. They must be doing something to keep them in line, to keep the system running.”

“You've… really thought about this, haven't you?”

“Diamond Tiara left me without a second thought, the very moment I decided to disobey her. Imagine what a princess will do to me if I don't follow through.”

Sweetie was still thinking about that when she walked with Rarity to her next surgery. Being on that table again… she wasn't sure she could do that. Even if she would be under anesthesia, would she feel it? She felt it the first time, every second of it. Big breath in, big breath out. Rarity held her hoof when she laid down. Bright lights. She felt the mask go onto her face. One… two… and then she was gone.

“Sweetie Bell?” She heard Rarity's voice cut through the anesthetic as it began to wear off. She looked over at the sound, and in a few moments she was able to see more clearly. She wasn't on the operation table anymore, she was in a hospital bed. She looked around, Rarity was the only one there. She smiled “are you awake?” Sweetie could only nod her head “the operation went well. You'll be in recovery for a day or two, but that just means taking some pain meds and not being too active.” She used her hoof to move some of the hair out of Sweetie Bell's eyes “I'm proud of you.” Was she? Was she proud that her sister got pregnant by mistake? Was she proud she was forced to be terminated and sterilized? Was she proud of the nearly a week she spent in bed, bleeding, in pain, because Twilight couldn't be bothered to do her operation right the first time? Sweetie felt… mad. Now that she was feeling better, and done being sad and ashamed of herself, she was just angry. She moved Rarity's hoof away from her face and turned away. Rarity didn't say anything, just sat there in the silence for a few minutes before getting up and leaving. Sweetie Bell could feel tears beginning to form. 

Fluttershy held a light brown pony with a red mane in her arms. InkedQuil indicated for her to hand the baby over, which she did happily. She began to cry tears of joy at her new child. This was the reason Fluttershy did all this, to see how happy they were… some of them would never get to be this happy. She would never get to be this happy… she rushed to her next appointment, the unicorn couple. From them she went to another birthing mother, then another. Four in one day was a lot for Ponyville, though she knew some ponies traveled from outside of town to come to this clinic. With two elements of friendship working there, one of wich being a princess, there was no wonder people wanted to have their medical needs handled there. She sighed and sat down in the small lounge area for staff. She saw several charts on the walls, magically enchanted to change as new information arrived. The ratio of failures to breeders. The amount of babies born each month. The different pony types of each child. It was important to keep those things even. If one pony type became more dominant over the others, then it might cause problems down the line. There had already been talk amongst the mayors and representatives to ban earth pony breeding all together, but Twilight put an end to that. There had been more unicorn babies this year than normal. The balance was close to tipping. She was sure the recruiters, and the enforcers in some cases, could handle it. Those kids, the ones born to keep statistics up, most of them ended up orphans. Not for long though, there was a long line of parents deemed unfit to breed and looking to adopt. Last year, at the peak of it, she had three babies that she was taking care of in the cottage. That didn't last, but while it happened she was quite busy. She got up, break was over. When she wasn't helping active births then she was consulting with future parents, and their surrogates if that applied. This couple, she wasn't sure about them. Two Pegasi from Cloudsdale. Their surrogate was young, she'd likely come in as part of a recruitment program. It was important that they all be involved, that's what she reminded them of. This fillie couldn't do it on her own. The couple seemed excited for the baby but indifferent about the girl's health. Originally she was going to live with them during the pregnancy, convincing them to move her to a facility wasn't hard. Fluttershy reassured her that everything would be ok. She'd be taken care of. Her next appointment was with Silver Spoon. She recognized the name as one of scootaloo’s classmates, all those years ago. Her case was special, she was signed up to do multiple pregnancies with different fathers one after the other, with reasonable recovery time in between of course. Today they were going over the list of possible donors for the project. It made her uncomfortable when Twilight called them projects, but she knew she didn't mean anything by it. Fluttershy looked over the forms, special talent was left blank.

“So, what are you looking for?”

“Looking for?” She seemed confused.

“Well these will be your children, we want you to have as much say in the process as possible.”

“So you want me to choose the donors?”

“Just one for now, to make things easier.” She handed her the list. Earth ponies in that area who met the criteria. “There's lots of things to consider, do you want a specific coat or mane color? Or perhaps a specific special talent, you get more options with that than most people.”

She seemed intimidated by the list “do I have to decide right now.”

“Oh of course not!” Her voice raised slightly above a concerned whisper “take the list home, feel free to contact the donors. Meet up with some of them. There's no deadline on this, so take as much time as you need.” She smiled reassuringly.

Silver Spoon and Sweetie Bell actually got out of their appointments around the same time. Rarity had planned it like that, so they could all walk home together. Spoon had the list of possible donors in her saddle bag. She looked over at Sweetie. She seemed upset. To be fair she had seemed upset this entire time. She sat next to her on the couch when they got home.

“What did you and the crusaders do? To try and get your cutie marks?

“All sorts of stuff. We tried baking, zip lining, archery. Pretty much everything.”

“Do you think I could try some of that stuff too?”

Sweetie looked at her “I don't know, some of it would be dangerous while you're pregnant. But…” she thought about it “we could try.” 

Silver Spoon smiled “thankyou.”

[imanalbertross]

It's Unpopular Opinion Time with Uncle Al!

TTS Proshipping

I'ma gonna make some people mad, but here I go.

Most of the optional ships I have seen/read/heard of for Varian that are not Hugo or maybe Nuru, though to me she reads incredibly lesbian, are really huge proships. I am, of course, talking about cannon characters (You wanna ship him with an OC, go ahead. I don't have to approve but I can remember being young and wishing I had an OC to give my favorite boy-things). For the most part, the characters that are available to him are of a significant age-gap and power-gap, and that's not a good thing.

I feel like it needs to be remembered that so many of these women/men being shipped with him (though in the lists I've seen that don't include Hugo, the only guy they really offer is Eugene, so still a huge proship) are adults. Which is point number 1. No matter who that person is- Cassandra, Rapunzel, Eugene, whoever- going after the 14 year old, even after a gap of time to allow him to age, would be considered grooming.

Why? Well, largely because of just the three I named, they met him as a child (yes, fourteen year olds still count as children in the eyes of the law) and he had sort of a hero-worship attitude for them at first. He had a full on crush on Cass, respected Raps for being a princess and also the fact that she really thinks his alchemy is cool- which seems to be rare in his world-, and Eugene was probably his first gay crush. That puts them in a position to use that respect he has for them in their favor to gain his interest.

So, Cassarian/Cassandrian has a woman literally almost ten years older than him coming back and getting into a relationship with a person she knows had a crush on her when he was a child makes dating him in the future abusive. The reason for this is because she is leveraging this information to get a relationship based on a child’s feelings, which is super creepy. If this was a male YouTuber and a fan, you wouldn’t be shipping this.

Rapunzel is a princess, and knew she was when she met him, so she gets the Cass rundown plus the fact that the power balance between them is insane. Let not even mention the fact that those two are so high in the sibling vibes category that it makes it an extra step of creepy. And is anyone actually shipping Eugene with him? I kind of feel like that’s a fake ship that angry people use as an example of why we shouldn’t have gays in kids’ shows.

The second point is that most of the other characters that end up on those lists are either small children- like 10-12, and he’s 14-16. I don’t know if you know this, but Varian is kind of an exception to the rule, when it comes to 16 year olds hanging out with younger kids. He’s still learning to friend, which is how he ends up with such a diverse group of friends.

I’ve seen Vex in these lists, and she barely wanted anything to do with the main group, and Varian’s villain schtick wasn’t who he really was. We all have a villain arc as people, and seldom is it the person we long to be or would be on purpose if given the choice. Usually, like Varian, we end up pretty ashamed of that part of our lives. But the characters listed that don’t know him probably wouldn’t want that kind of a relationship with him, nor would they be likely to hold similar desires and ideals- this kind of thing can be a deal breaker in relationships.

This said, we also kind of need to talk about leaving Hugo off the list. Is this because he’s from a program that was denied by Disney? Possibly, but it needs to be said. If you want to post about partners for Varian, you need to state “out of the canon characters” because, honey, there are so many non-canon choices. Hugo is just the one that the writers chose. Which is kind of important too, since they built him. They know Varian better than we do.

Being anti about gay ships but fine with straight proships is a rant for another day. But I got to a point with Cassarian that I just needed to point out the genuine nope surrounding it.

[desolatelucid]

What are the things you wish you could change about Charlie in underworld?

Spoilers!! But u knew that:

Luke's job: Idk him being a police officer felt so strange I suppose. I feel like I'd like him being a bounty hunter/officer for hire instead of that, but that's just my opinion.

Luke's screentime overall: I wish we got to see more of him in Charlie In Underworld. He helped Eugene out of the bad image he saw of himself and is one of the only other people that actually see him the way that Eugene wants to see himself, and I wish we could've seen more of their interactions as adults, especially after Eugene fell back into the self loathing image that he got used to 10 years before. That and more interactions with the other mortals would've been fun.

Eugene's anger: Eugene is an extremely patient character, however that patience could also hide growing anger that he never knew how to express. I wish we could've seen more of Eugene being angry and covering up with the neutral act, and how Boss would deal with the fact that they are more similar than they used to be because of that guilt and rage. Eugene already gets angry and just brushes it off in the game but I would've loved to see him just break stuff in his room out of anger, and then when he's back in public he's acting fine again. Especially in River's incident. Where he swears for the first and only time in both games, (".River.. Fuck it!! Tear it all down!") He seems to only revert to that language when he's extremely furious, and I wanted to see more of his rage and guilt when it comes to River, Boss, and the fact that the image of himself that he came to love was built off of lies.

Eugene and his relationships to younger characters: Eugene was kind of an older brother/father figure to Hayden. Although Boss showed a bit of his softer side when it comes to Hayden, Hayden always kinda just saw him as Boss. Eugene also has a softer spot when it comes to younger characters, but he's more emotionally available than Boss, which makes Hayden gravitate towards him. In Hayden's chapter, when he turns into an evil spirit, he doesn't listen to Eugene but to Charlie because of what they said. After the events of that, Eugene asks "Why did he listen to you and not me?" Because Eugene was always around for Hayden, but he doesn't understand why his words didn't reach him, but he's confused on why Charlie's did. I wish we got to see more of Eugene taking care of Hayden, and him being kind of an older cousin figure to Charlie, since he seems to be more gentle with younger ghosts the way that Boss is.

Eugene's PTSD: Charlie's PTSD is more flushed out understandably, but there was never any scenes where Eugene got particularly stressed or scared of events he's experienced in the past. (there might have been, but if I forgot, I apologize.) I would've wanted to see atleast just slight mannerisms from him whenever stuff like that comes in, such as a flinch or an immediate reflex (EX: If he flinched at loud noises, or at the trains passing by after River's incident.)

And more but I don't want to write all of that down. Also please don't take this as me being mean towards the game!! This is simply my opinion and if there is anything I said wrong, please tell me. Charlie In Underworld is a wonderful game and is probably my favorite game at the moment!