#stop the religious nut jobs

[lenbryant]

Project 2025 organizers have plans for us. And they ain't good.

[slightlyartist]

hello!

do you have any headcanons about emma-may (tate's mom)?

EMMA-MAY MY BELOVED!! I have a bunch of HCs!

She genuinely was in love with Fiddleford, but Fidds always felt a bit off in that marriage (throwing my HC that he is a closeted gay man with religious guilt but this isn't about him).

She tried SO hard to make the marriage work, blaming it even on herself for not being enough, and feeling undesirable at times.

She is so concerned about Tate's (canonical) intelligence. She doesn't want her son to end up crazy or absent like his father, so she constantly reminds him that he IS smart, but doesn't need to go to great lengths to prove it. You can be smart but desire a simple life, and that's okay, no need to do extraordinary things to be extraordinary.

She remarried! She is with someone who loves her the way she deserves. <3

She was terrified when Tate decided to go to Gravity Falls to take care of Fidds. She already lost the man she once loved, she doesn't want to lose her son as well. Tate promised to keep in touch and visit her every once in a while.

Christmas is bittersweet for her. She always tried to come up with nice gifts for Tate, but they didn't have a lot of money so she and Fidds always ended up handcrafting and building them. When Fidds came back from Gravity Falls empty-handed, it drove her nuts because she'd been singlehandedly taking care of their son for 6-7 months straight and getting some gifts during holidays was the least she expected. Discovering Fiddleford handcrafted multiple thoughtful gifts to Ford didn't help the case.

Aimed for a "traditional family" and a simple life. Got neither of those until she remarried.

"A single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kid and never stops, with gentle hands and the heart of a fighter, I'm a survivor"

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for ditching a long-term friend?

I (35F) had a friend (S, 33F) for years. We bonded the first night we met. We had ups an downs, and went everywhere together. I helped her kick her bf out after he tried to hit her and helped her through two miscarriages. She helped me through a family member death and a career change. We would speak almost every day, for hours.

She was always slightly more conservative than me. When 2016 rolled around, she supported Trump. I didn't like that, but it wasn't my place to bitch about it to her, it was her decision.

By 2020, she'd changed. Idk how it happened but she went from slightly conservative Christian who loved school and being a nurse and had friends who were LGBT+ (myself included), to deadnaming trans patients, refusing to do a blood draw on a patient after she said it was a prerequisite for an abortion, forcing patients to pray with her, even when they and their families spoke out against it, and bugging her coworkers to pray with her. She got fired from the hospital and was completely unable to hold down a job after that, and went through about 6 jobs that year, getting fired from them all. She got with a guy (B, 32M) and he is a... Well, he is a damn nut. Flat earther, antivaxxer, anti- Department of Education, anti-cell phone, thought bluetooth was turning kids trans, and that covid is 100% a hoax. Absolutely bonkers. But she was smitten, so I supported her, barely.

It's important to note that I backed away from her a bit after she was fired from the hospital. We were only speaking once every few weeks at that point.

Shortly after she got with B, my nephew was born. My nephew is half Mexican, half white. She called him "cute for a half n*g" because she thought my SIL is black. This blew me away because she's half Mexican. I told her off and distanced myself even further.

In 2021, she was a huge supporter of Jan 6th. She LAUGHED when that one cop killed himself. I stopped talking to her completely after that. Deleted her contact info and forgot she existed for almost 2 years.

Cut to October of this year, and she calls me. I didn't recognize her #. She and B are getting married! And she wants me to be a bridesmaid!!! Yayy! (sarcasm). She told me a long-winded variation of "I know we haven't talked for a bit but I promise I'm not as bonkers as I was, I think I let Facebook suck me in, and I'm sorry."

So, I let her back in. Not emotionally, mind you. She's not the woman I once knew anymore. I don't tell her where our house is (my partner and I moved while S and I weren't speaking), and I didn't tell her what car I drove. I didn't tell her anything about our lives, and kept the conversation solely on her, to try and read her out a bit.

Sure enough, two conversations in she starts ranting about how black people are black because they received the mark of Cain (it's a Christian thing? I guess? Idk I'm not religious) and thus should be avoided because they are inherently "up to no good," and that systemic racism doesn't exist because the US has had a black president.

I roll my eyes, hang up the phone, block her number, and end it, permanently, right there. I received a few odd texts from a number I didn't recognize, probably B's phone, so I just blocked that number and deleted them without reading most of them.

Cue our mutual friends. 🙄

She misses you! People can have differing opinions and still be friends! Why are you being so closed minded? She told us you yelled at her! 😭😭😭

Lol. I didn't say a word, but whatever.

I'd rather adjust my life to her absence than adjust my morality to her ignorance.

My partner is on my side, they saw her change, too. But our mutual friends are still upset. I shared some the racist and sexist text convos between me and S, and it's like they hadn't even considered my side of the situation. One is on my side now, the other two are still questioning how I can throw away a 6 year friendship over "differing politics."

So, Tumblr, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[angel-of-the-moons]

Nothing Is Lost

Khonshu x Fem!Reader

TW/CW: NSFW, Smut, fingering, teasing, unprotected PiV, voyeruism/public sex (kinda)? Sort of sex with you and the old man? Said old man being creepy and watching you sleep again, as usual!

MINORS DNI I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTENT YOU CONSUME

A/N: Ok so I couldn't push this off for a later chapter lmaooooo And I figured after what happened last chapter and the hypnosis, it was bound to trigger some "other" memories ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Taglist: @drinkingwithkhonshu @astrosphereblog @themostegotisticalgirl124 @patchesofwork

Chapter 12:

Forgotten Graces

You were pissed the whole walk back to your apartment. You walked with a heavy stomp, muttering under your breath, your brow furrowed so hard you were almost worried about a permanent chasm forming in your skin.

You exuded such annoyance that people gave you a wide berth to avoid accidentally bumping into you. You would have enjoyed the looks of concern(fear?) on their faces had you not been so enraged at the sheer audacity of that quack "doctor".

She didn't even let you explain that you weren't even sure who that man was in your dream! Yeah, the guy was definitely close to Merit in an intimate manner, but... still! She dismissed you so easily. Bullshit!

You just wished you could see his goddamn face. You knew any likelihood of recognizing him were pointless, but you just... you felt like you needed to, y'know?

You slammed your door just a little too hard, and marched over to your bed and tossed yourself onto it; pulling your pillow tightly against you with a frustrated sniffle. Great. Now you were crying.

You knew your paid leave was diminishing. You needed to sort this out before you went back to work. You couldn't risk fainting on the job. That meant you could get hurt, or worse--fired. And then you were really screwed.

No. You wouldn't think about that right now. It was too much to pile onto your psyche for the moment. You checked the time on your phone and sighed deeply.

Time for a nap. You deserved one.

As you closed your eyes, you just couldn't imagine what your subconscious had in store for you this time... Or why you hadn't seen your unwanted companion in a couple of days.

The temple was empty at this time of night. Unsurprising, given it was the time of year the priests and priestesses went back to their families for the next several months until their religiously significant cycle began once again; but it wasn't uncommon for some to return even at night or varying times of day to worship in their spare time.

Some, like you. And given it was the dead on night on a young moon, it only made sense for you to be at the temple at this hour. The silvery thread of the moon barely shown down on Egypt this early in the cycle; so the hollows in the ceiling meant to allow the soft cool rays to illuminate the temple at night were only allowing glimpses of the Milk of Hathor and the Body of Nut as she stretched out over the land.

Your bare feet padded softly through the limestone halls, humming a song as your fingers trailed the walls and reliefs painted on them; Khonshu's figure being the most prominent.

Some images showed him smiting the unrighteous--those who hurt and abused those who they perceived as beneath them, those who killed senselessly, and those who committed crimes. But others showed him standing in fields surrounded by cows, the Moon Disc on his head illuminating them, giving fertility to the peoples' livelihoods. Others had the same manner of paintings, only Khonshu sat on a golden throne; resting his hand on a woman prostrate before him, pleading for his blessing to help conceive a child, a man kneeling next to her asking for Khonshu to heal his ailing father...

You stopped walking to peer up at one relief in particular, the torchlight dimly dancing across the surface of the wall.

This one was of Khonshu, looking down over Egypt; his hand resting on the shoulders of his Chosen; his Fist. The writing painted around them tell the tale of one who was blessed by Khonshu to carry out his will through mortal hands--to do what he technically could not do from his divine position--showing versatility through his righteous Fist.

Your brows furrow as the torchlight flickers in an unfelt wind and gets snuffed out, casting the hall in complete darkness. That was odd... Why did--

You opened your mouth to yelp in fright as an arm encircled your waist, another slipping over your mouth to silence you.

"Hush," His honeyed voice soothed you, "It's only me."

"Ohhh!" You laugh as he pushes you against the wall and turns you around. You smack his shoulder playfully as you settled your back against the wall; your voice bubbly as you scold your lover. "You absolute scamp! You scared me!"

His laughter washes over you like the sweetest warm waters of the Nile as you catch the faint glowing of his irises in the pitch black. "You are so easy to scare. Like a little mouse."

"You take that back!" You grin, blindly encircling your arms around his shoulders as his hands grip at the sheer fabric of your gown. "I am not a mouse."

"Oh?" You can hear the grin in his voice as he leans in, his tone dropping low and seductive, "But you are as soft as one..."

"That flattery of yours can only get you so far, my love."

"Ah, it seems I should try harder, then." He chuckles darkly, slipping his knee between your legs and forcing them apart as he pushes the edges of your gown out of the way.

Your mouths find each other in the dark--a well-rehearsed dance you both knew by heart at this point--ad your lover's hand creeps up the smooth skin of your thigh before sliding over it and settling between your legs, his fingers spreading your damp folds teasingly as you grunted into his mouth.

"I couldn't wait to see you." He rasps softly as your lips part; one of his fingers circling your swollen nub. You still couldn't see his face in the dark, but you just knew he was smirking at you as you tried to hold in your moans, could see the flame of mirth dancing in the faint glowing of his irises; "It seems you couldn't wait for me, either..."

"You're terrible..." You moan softly, your head falling back against the wall as you feel him slide a finger into your waiting heat, stroking your insides with such glorious friction. Your voice raises softly in pitch as he leans in and inhales the blue lotuses hanging from your wig, mixing with your oils and perfumes.

"W-we shouldn't do this h-here..." You sigh shakily, your legs trembling as you fight the growing swell of wetness between them; an instrument that your lover played with adept dexterity.

His lips on yours silence you; "Hush. Do not fight this."

You whine against his mouth as you feel the swelling heat of his erection begin to press against the confines of his shendyt; teasing you with the pleasure you knew was to be had tonight. Your voice comes from you in shallow pants as another finger joins the first, stroking and pressing on that oh so delightful spot inside of you, beginning to pluck the strings of your growing release by the second.

"Please," You whisper in the dark.

You groan deeply at the loss of his fingers; a shiver slipping down your spine when you hear him sigh in approval. You can just imagine him admiring the slick nectar of yours as it coated his fingers, the way his tongue wrapped around his finger to taste you.

You feel his wet fingers tap on your lips and you open up without even needing any words of instruction; tasting the acidic but slightly sweet taste of your essence mixed with a bit of his saliva as your tongue traced the pads of his fingers.

"I think you're ready for me, love." He purrs.

You hum around his digits in concurrence, letting him pull them from the wet cavern of your mouth with a soft pop.

"I want you to leap and wrap your legs around my waist." He commands gently; parting the folds of his shendyt to allow his aching manhood freedom.

You comply with his wishes, letting him grip you tight and help you up so you could wrap your legs around him; leaning back just enough to allow him to guide the weeping tip of him to your fluttering entance.

The moment he sheathed himself within you was always a moment of sheer bliss, so pleasurable it knocked you speechless and blind. His mouth kissed at your throat, teeth nipping the soft skin as he began to slowly begin thrusting within you.

"Agh--ohh..." You whine, your voice seizing in your throat as you feel him stretch and mold you around his length; the heat of his body almost burning you from the inside out.

"Merit." He hisses against the strands of your wig, "You are tight... relax for me, love. Do you intend to choke me with your body?"

You bite your lip and whimper, a breathy laugh bubbling up from somewhere within you as he gives you a slow and languid thrust, trying to coax your muscles to soften and allow him a more seamless entry.

"Ahh... isn't this--mmmh--considered--oh!--b-blasphemy?" You say as he increased his pace just a bit. "I am not s-supposed to have s-sex before c-coming into the temple."

"You will come in this temple, love." He grins against your ear at his own crude joke, his breath tickling the skin of your neck as his breathing becomes uneven.

"And as for--ngh--this blasphemy that you speak of..." He groans in between the punishing rolls of his hips against yours.

He drags his tongue up the rapid pulse in your throat before speaking again, making you gasp and mewl for him, your nails scraping his back, snagging the golden collar he wore as he ravished you.

"I would consider this--haah--the highest form of worship... in your case..." He grunts softly in-between thrusts, "A body... as pure as yours--as beautiful--being worshipped... in a temple dedicated to a god--ugh--is a delicious offering."

"You're... terrible." You say once more, your mouth opening in a long moan, feeling the peak of your release beginning to crest.

"You would not have me--ahh--another way." He laughed into your skin, his eyes rolling back at how your body squeezed him in the most heavenly way.

"Come for me." He commands with a snarl, thrusting into you now with reckless abandon; like a wild stallion bucking against a rider attempting to tame him. And he knew you were possibly the only one in all of creation to even come close to taming him at your whim.

He would bring you the stars and a piece of the moon if you asked it of him. He would black out the sun if it meant seeing you smile under the cooling shade of an eclipse.

You were as divine as a mortal could be, your body providing him sublime pleasure even gods and goddesses could likely be unable to give; and he knew this for a fact when you came undone for him and only him, soft words of love and drunken pleasure babbling from your lips as your tight, fluttering depths gushed around him, milking--no, demanding he empty his seed into you.

And it was a demand he would gladly give in to.

He growls deeply, wrapping his arms around your body tightly, crushing you against him as you sob and struggle to keep the sounds of your pleasure quiet, lest anyone hear you and catch the both of you in the throes of your passion.

He pulls you down onto his length with every rough and almost angry thrust, the vein running along him thumping in anticipation as his end approached.

If he were to die, this would be how he wanted it to be; wrapped in your embrace--you in his--your bodies locked together in a wonderful portrayal of physical bliss.

He shuddered, biting down softly on your shoulder with a deep groan as he thrust into you once, twice, and the and third time, his seed flowing into you and being pushed deeper with every growing lazy roll of his hips.

You both come down from the heat of your lovemaking, and you both smile at each other in the dark.

And laugh.

Your eyes snap open with a start and you gasp, your body jolting as you sit up in your bed, the blankets wrapped around your legs in an uncomfortable cocoon; your hair messy and sticking out in some places.

Your heart fluttered in your chest as you blinked, staring down at yourself in a mix of shock, confusion, and... arousal.

Since when was the last time you ever had a wet dream that vivid?

Oh, right. They weren't dreams. They were "visions", according to Jezebel.

So why did your visions feel the need to show you such a vivid dream of a tryst in the dark of night? Why did--

"Well," A dark voice says, the edges of each word tinged with faint amusement. "It seems that you had a very nice dream. For a change."

You couldn't contain yourself, you let out a shriek and spun around, hurling your pillow at the speaker on sheer instinct as you scramble to try and free yourself of the snake your blankets had become around your legs.

Khonshu batted the pillow away with little difficulty, an annoyed huff coming from him as it drops to the floor.

He sat, his ghostly appearance illuminated by the warm glow of your bedside lamp; draped in his usual linen robes and divine garb, the soft fabric dancing in an imaginary breeze, with one leg propped over his other knee, hands clasped in his lap as he scrutinized you in your panic.

"Calm down. It is only me."

"Shhhhhutttt the fuck uuuuup!" You shout, kicking your blankets off of you finally, standing on your knees to glare at him. God you hated how hot and bothered you felt thanks to that stupid dream, right now...

"The hell are you doing here?" You demand, feeling frustration and irritation at his, once again, self-entitled appearance in what should have been the safety and privacy of your own home.

He tilted his head, "I came to see you, of course."

"You came to annoy me, you mean." You accuse, narrowing your eyes.

"Call it what you wish," He said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I will not stop until I figure out why you are such an enigma to me."

"I'm not some rubik's cube for you to play with, you old bastard." You huff, throwing your legs over the side of your bed.

"You are indeed a puzzle." He says matter-of-factly, "One I intend to solve."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." You sigh, rubbing at your face. You didn't feel as tired or exhausted as you normally did after your dreams/visions. If anything, you felt a buzz from your toes all the way to the ends of your hair. Maybe this had something to do with that stupid hypnosis session that quack put you under? Maybe--

"You are rather loud in your sleep, you know. I pity whomever you share your bed with." Khonshu snorted derisively.

You felt the flames of embarrassment consume your face, a flush planting itself firmly in your cheeks as you glare at the ancient god, shooting to your feet with a frustrated shout as you make your way to your bathroom. "Ugh!"

"So..." He said, his voice once again becoming smarmy, almost humorous; "I suppose this means you won't tell me what you were dreaming about?

"Fuck off, you stupid pigeon!" You snap, slamming the bathroom door shut.

Yeah. You needed a cold shower.

A very cold shower...

Chapter 13: Link

[heesdreamer]

SILENCED (4)

MASTERLIST

GENRE ➩ enhypen zombie apocalypse au!

SUMMARY ➩ navigating life 1 year post end of the world was already difficult as you avoided rotting corpses with hefty appetites and groups with various bad intentions. things get harder when you run into a group of survivors, 7 boys who make it impossible to run away.

WC ➩ 6k

WARNINGS ➩ death gore blood um zombies and everything the apocalypse brings…

AUTHORS NOTE ➩ Hello, me again lol Sorry it’s been so long since the last update on this I’ve had other stuff I was prioritizing but thank you to the people following and enjoying this story! The updates are a lot smaller than my usual works and that bugs me a bit but I have a lot planned and it won’t be such a long gap between each chapter from now on lol. Reminder to check out the playlist for hints and general vibe! NOT PROOFREAD but u knew that

“What are you even talking about dude, I beat you five to one easy. It wasn’t even close.” Jake’s voice was laughing out as he rested back on the couch, swinging an arm forward in emphasis towards his friend.

“No you don’t get it, if we had a rematch I’d whoop you.” Jay was quick to respond, a gloomy look on his face from losing so terribly and the younger boys broke into a fit of giggles at his attitude.

The day had been quiet, picking up each other from school one by one and heading back to Jake’s place. His mom had been out of town for the month on a business trip and it’d become their official club house for the time being, messier than it should’ve been with blankets covering any surface that could serve as a temporary bed.

Heeseung was pushing through the front door with a strange expression on his face, glancing behind in the hallway before locking the deadbolt and peaking out of the peephole. Sweat was coating his face and the other boys stopped laughing as they looked at him.

“It’s that bad out there now?” Jungwon was asking in a soft voice and Heeseung jumped a bit before glancing at him and giving him a solid nod.

News stations had been buzzing for weeks but nobody paid too close of attention outside of the people with particularly raging anxiety. Reports of cannibalisms, first in America and then the neighboring countries.

The boys hadn’t thought much of it, some crazy new drug that would never make it this far or mass hysteria. Then it was announced that it was a disease, something that couldn’t be helped and borders could not stop and things started to get a bit more wary. Some stores were shutting down, families leaving to their summer houses out in the country and yesterday Jay had been cut from work early.

“I don’t know, I don’t think we can wait anymore.” Heeseung was muttering and Jake sat up on the couch, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

“You mean like leave? Where would we even go?” He was asking and his question made them all fall silent, knowing he was right and they didn’t have a safe haven to disappear to like others did. They all had families but they weren’t extremely close now that they were older, spending most of their time together and only coming home to get scolded for poor grades.

Heeseung was shaking his head and turning towards them fully to scan the room, freezing up slightly when his head count came up one short. “Where’s Riki?”

“He.. had that exam I think. Must’ve had to stay late.” Sunoo was saying it slowly to try and explain but a feeling of dread settled over everybody at the realization he was out there alone, not yet realizing how quickly things were falling apart.

“Is it really that bad Heeseung?” Jay was asking in confusion, just yesterday they all were walking around casually outside of the few religious nut jobs screaming about the end of days.

Heeseung didn’t say anything for a long time, like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to relay what he had saw or if he just wanted to let them think things were okay for a few minutes longer. He knew he had witnessed stuff that wasn’t going to be fixed anytime soon, stuff that would change how they lived from now on and he wasn’t sure he was ready to fully embrace that.

He was clearing his throat to speak but the words fell short and he made his way over to the kitchen counter instead, taking Jungwon’s moms keys and glancing at him for permission.

The younger boy looked confused but he gave him a small nod, eyes widening a touch when the oldest hesitated before going back into the kitchen and returning with the largest cooking knife available.

“Woah, you can’t go out there with that. You’ll get arrested dude.” Sunghoon was rushing out, suddenly paying attention and alert now as he sat up off the couch and raised his hands towards Heeseung.

“I don’t think there’s anybody left to arrest me.” He was spitting out but he wasn’t angry at his friends, just stricken with fear and anxiety at the thought of returning back outside but he couldn’t stand the idea of Riki being out there alone.

“Well I’ll come with you.” Jay was announcing and standing up, wiping off the chip crumbs from his sweater. Heeseung almost denied him and demanded he stayed here and kept the doors locked but he figured he might not be able to make it alone and Jay was definitely the most capable of the two of them, strong and sturdy despite his carefree personality.

“The rest of you need to stay put. I don’t care what you hear, or how long it takes for us to come back, you can’t open that door.” He was warning the group and they all paused in fearful hesitance before slowly nodding, the idea of not searching for their friends after a period of time leaving them unsettled.

The two eldest were making their way out of the apartment building, stopping at the entry door to push a vending machine in front of it. Jay looked confused when Heeseung asked him to do it but he followed suit anyways, not wanting to deny the orders considering the fear in his friends face.

Jungwon’s moms van was large and loud, rattling when you pressed too hard on the gas pedal and squealing every time it forced its large frame to a stop. They didn’t drive it often, outside of trips to the beach and going through drive thru’s, and Heeseung was grateful that the roads were uncharacteristically empty as he amateurly made his way through the city streets.

It was complete silent as they pulled up to their youngest friends school, both holding their breath as they leaned forward to see out of the driver side window and try to catch sight of any sign of life.

Heeseung’s heart was throbbing and he felt sick, almost too scared to go and find the boy in case he saw something he wasn’t able to ever forget, something he wouldn’t be able to move past. Jay’s hand was reaching forward to take his arm and he glanced at the other boy, seeing him give him a firm nod with a look of determination. Heeseung gave him a weary smile in return but it was the boost of strength he needed to open the door.

There was debris around the area from the days of mild chaos leading up to this and Jay bent down to grab a particularly long piece of metal, steadying it in front of him like a baseball bat as they got closer to the school doors.

They were unlocked and they quickly realized something was wrong judging by the papers scattered along the hallway, backpack’s abandoned in classrooms like they had to evacuate fast and Heeseung could smell something foul that caused his nose to turn up in disgust.

“Riki.” It was a yelled whisper echoing through the halls, carrying the noise all the way down the silent building until it was reaching the end and bouncing back towards them.

“Hyung? Is that you?” A scared voice was coming from the end of the hallway, shaky and muffled like he was hidden behind something and the two older boys let out a sigh of relief at the confirmation that he was at least okay enough to respond.

They were swift in their approach towards the room the voice had come from, forgetting to be cautious because of their relief and rush to get out of there but they quickly froze when a figure was coming out of one of the classrooms in the middle of the hallway.

Heeseung automatically recognized the signs of the creatures he had seen earlier, staring at the man who was staggering into the hall and turning towards them with his nose in the air. His eyes were yellow and vacant and he had dark liquid around his mouth, still moving his jaw like he was finishing a large meal. The man groaned loudly in their direction, bordering on a screech and the boys could do nothing but stare.

“What the fuck?” Jay was rushing out in an anxious tone, glancing over to his friend who was remaining still and watching it carefully. “Dude what’s wrong with him, what the fuck?”

“He’s got it.” Heeseung was stating matter of factly and Jay paled at the realization, shaking his head in disbelief and faltering backwards a few steps.

Heeseung was approaching the creature slowly and they both jumped when it reared its head and roared in agitation, sloppily approaching them and not faltering even when it almost slipped and crashed into the floor. They watched it approached speedily and when it got near they both circled around it’s back, confusing it momentarily but not long enough before it was attacking again.

The creature pinned Heeseung back against the wall, his hands flailing in front of him as he tried his hardest to shove it away with cries and groans of fear. It’s strength was double what a normal man’s would be and he was seconds from giving up when it was slumping to the ground.

Heeseung dropped off the wall and scrambled over to Jay who was panting with the piece of scrap metal in front of him, dripping thick syrupy blood now that he had smashed it into the figure.

They both watched in horror, attempting to catch their breath, as it begun to rise off the floor again. Shakily standing back to its full height and snarling again at them, seemingly angrier now.

“Oh you’ve gotta be shitting me.” Heeseung was panting out as he stared up at its cracked skull, half of its face sliding downwards and a bloodied mess from the force of Jay’s swing mixed with days of decay.

Both boys watched it as it started to approach again and then Jay was letting out a loud scream, taking a few steps forward and swinging the metal back down on its shoulder. They both froze in anticipation and then fear when the creature didn’t react to the hit at all.

“Oh what the fu-“ He was cut off as the creature swung at him and he dove out of the way with a grunt. “How do you kill this thing?”

“Why the fuck would I know?” Heeseung was screaming back in bewilderment, glancing around in confusion to try and find a way out of the situation but coming up with nothing as he turned back to keep his attention on the man who kept getting more and more unhinged the louder they avoided him and his gaping mouth.

The creature wasn’t getting winded whilst the boys were barely managing to swing their arms anymore, using this to its advantage and catching Jay off guard. Heeseung watched in horror as it pinned his friend to the hallway floor, listening to his screams of terror and gasp of air from under its heavy frame.

He didn’t think twice before he was rushing forward, and throwing the entirety of his weight into its body. He let out a guttural scream and pulled his arm back as far as it could go before driving the knife forward into its softened skull. Jay was, thankfully, getting the memo and rolling out of the way before the creature slammed onto the floor, now fully lifeless.

Both boys collapsed to the floor in fits of gasps and pants. Nobody spoke for a few minutes from shock and then Jay’s tired voice was ringing out. “Dude… you just totally saved my life.”

It was silent again for a few seconds before Heeseung was letting out a soft chuckle, launching the other into a fit of delirious laughter until they were both cracking up with the body in between them.

“Holy shit.” Both boys were pausing at the sound of Riki’s voice, a lot closer now as he pushed his way out of the classroom and was watching them from the end of the hallway. “You guys totally killed Mr. Kim.”

“And then what?” Your voice was completely enthralled as you spoke, leaning forward towards the campfire so your elbows were on your knees and you thought you saw Jake’s lips curl up from the corner of your eye.

“Well… we went back to get the others. We tried to get to family but..” Jay was trailing off but you nodded in understanding and he gave you a grateful look before sighing and continuing with his story. “Heeseung found a map in the pocket of a dead guy on the highway out of the city and he had circled the general area that you found us in, so we assumed it was safe.”

“And it was.” Jake was adding and it was some of his first words of the night, having remained mostly silent and to himself throughout your trip.

It had been two days since you left and you knew everybody was feeling unsettled by the fact you were heading back home now to the unknown. It was a mostly uneventful journey, not stopping much or sleeping more than a few hours with a shared determination to get there and back as soon as humanly possible.

You felt like the universe had cut you a break when you arrived to the veterinary hospital Jungwon had seen on the map, only encountering a handful of walkers and finding some medicine that should do the trick fairly quickly. But you knew the universe wasn’t kind nor was she fond of handing out breaks so your stomach clenched with the idea of what could be waiting for you back at the camp.

Sunghoon could’ve died from blood loss and infection and passed along the traumatizing act of putting him down before he turned, or he could’ve turned in the night and taken out a few of his brothers before anybody was awake enough to put a stop to it.

You knew the two boys with you were thinking similar things so you’d ask for a story to try and keep their minds off of it, listening to Jay carefully as he recounted the first time they’d killed a walker and how happy Riki was that it was his mean teacher that often stuck him in detention.

“Heeseung was our leader before he was ever our leader.” Jay was remarking as he finished his story, scooting down more into the dirt so his back was fully pressed against the rotted log he was resting on.

Jake hummed in agreement and you didn’t say anything, thinking about the statement and the conversation you’d had with the eldest boy about the weight of his responsibilities. You felt a longing for him suddenly, missing him and the others more than you thought you would and you could tell the two with you were thinking the same thing now that it was falling silent again.

You didn’t say anything as you were standing up to stomp out the fire, knowing it was already a risk to strike it up in the first place but especially to sleep with it roaring.

The three of you followed the same routine as the past two nights, stringing up cans in a circle around where you were sleeping so if anything, dead or alive, bumped into it you’d have some form of warning before it was coming down directly on top of you. You laid your head down in the pile of leaves and tried to ignore the sticks sitting uncomfortably under your shoulder blades, falling asleep to the sounds of the forest and the two boys breathing.

——

You’d been walking for a few hours before seeing anything familiar but your body was alert to the fact you were getting closer to the camp again, this time with a backpack full of supplies and a prayer in the back of your mind that things would be okay.

It didn’t take long for you to realize something was off about your surroundings, the woods unusually silent and resting like all the animals and trees were holding their breath. You raised your hand and folded it, a silent signal for the boys to stop walking and fall into a crouched position behind you.

Your eyes were hurriedly scanning over the forest floor and your heart sank when you noticed multiple pairs of tracks and footprints that wouldn’t have been from your group, having no reason to venture this far out. You waved Jake and Jay closer and they quickly shifted forward in their crouched position.

“Is it a hoard?” Jake was whispering to you when you pointed out the shoe prints in the mud, glancing at you with a worried expression. Jay’s eyes were dark with concern and his face was hard, glancing in the direction of the others and frowning.

“I don’t think so.” You were shaking your head and sighing softly as you trailed your finger around the indented mud to explain to them. “The steps are too direct and pointed, if it was walkers they’d be messy and all over the place.”

“So it’s people then.” Jay was saying matter of factly and you all feel into a heavy silence, knowing you had no choice but to continue on the path back home, regardless if there was anybody left waiting for you or not.

You didn’t bother wasting anytime, falling into fast and silent footsteps and you maneuvered your way through the woods, guns drawn and knives out of your holster in case any of the people were still around and surveilling the surrounding woods.

Jay caught sight of something long before you did and you were grateful for his hand that shot out to stop you from rushing right into the view of the man you could now see, pacing back and forth in the center of the little houses and keeping an eye out for anything out of place.

You lip curled up in a sneer but you weren’t exactly sure what to do. If it was up to you, you’d simply take him out from a distance but you didn’t know how many were inside with the boys and if any more were not here, not wanting to risk the safety of the others or the three of you by acting on impulse. Jake seemed to be thinking something similar considering he was tapping your shoulder to get your attention, indicating down to your knives after you looked at him.

You understood what he was implying but you stared at him for a few seconds to make sure he was certain, realizing you hadn’t yet discussed the groups morals when it came to the living.

His eyes were hard as he gave you a solid nod and he mouthed for Jay to have your back as you moved in silent towards the patrol. The man didn’t have time to react before you were behind him, listening to the sound of Jay whistle and bring his attention forward before you were wrapping your hand around his forehead and tilting his head back so his neck was fully exposed to you.

He let out a gurgled shout as you slid your knife across his throat, grunting softly under his weight as you tried to lower him to the ground as silently as possible.

You looked up at Jay after he was on the ground, watching him carefully as he gave you a small nod of acceptance and you sighed softly before returning it to him and waiting for Jake to come out of the woods and meet you. The three of you ducked against one of the houses, your backs pressed against the wood as you listened to try and get a guess of how many people were inside.

“I say we just kill him already.” It was a woman’s voice and she was speaking in a nasty rasp like she was a heavy smoker, your heart pounding at the sentence she spoke. “He’s half dead already, I’ll be pissed if he turns on us and takes a chunk out of my arm.”

You glanced at Jake after she was done speaking and he was already looking at you, both of you relieved to hear that she was talking about Sunghoon still being alive, immediately followed by the dread of what she was implying they should do.

“Touch him and you’ll have bigger problems than him turning.” Heeseung’s voice was speaking now and it was dropped to an octave you’d never heard it in before, cold and serious and he threatened her in a deadly tone.

You heard an annoyed scoff from a male voice before it was followed by the sound of low groans of pain that you made out to be Sunghoon’s, wincing slightly at the hurt in his cries.

“Do something then.” The males voice was speaking in a teasing manner and you heard Sunghoon groan again, likely being hit or kicked by somebody inside to prove a point towards the other boys helplessness. “Oh.. you can’t, that’s right. I forgot.”

There was more sounds after that but you couldn’t fully tell what they were, feeling sick and helpless where you were sitting until Jay was snapping his fingers and getting both of your attention back on him.

He was making signals with his hand and you swiftly understood that he was implying he wanted to rush inside and take them out before they had a chance to react or take any hostages, using the element of surprise to your advantage. Jake seemed more hesitant in the idea although you figured it was only the two of them inside the small house, seeing the car they had arrived it and doubting it could fit more than four people.

Your eyes wandered over to the body on the ground and you steadied your footing in the dirt before nodding softly to Jay and patting Jake on the back.

It went extremely fast, your mind on complete autopilot and devoid of any extreme emotion to help you get through the terrible act without hesitating or missing your shot. Jake was kicking the door open roughly and then stepping back to allow you and Jay to rush forward, relief rushing through you at the confirmation it was only two people and then followed by horror considering how easily you were able to sink your knife into the skull of the woman.

She’d barely had a second to process your arrival, eyes widening in fear and letting out a painful gasp of shock before her face was lifeless and she was crumbling to the floor.

You felt slightly sick that it had been so easy for you to kill two people in the span of minutes but you glanced up at the scared boys huddled around the house and you realized that you didn’t regret it, that you’d do it 100 times again if it was necessary.

Heeseung was tied to the radiator next to Sunghoon, clarifying the reason he hadn’t even able to stop their assault on the boy and you glanced at him to see him far paler and more lifeless than he had been when you’d seen him. He was still alive however and you were rushing to grab the supplies from your bag when you noticed the horror on the boys faces, eyes over your shoulder.

You froze up but before you could turn to see what they were seeing, a shot was ringing out close to your ear and you were completely disoriented for a few seconds.

It took awhile to process what had happened, turning your body in a panic to see a fourth man laying in the doorway of the house. His knife was still rattling against the floor from where he’d dropped it and you saw the exit wound coming out from the backside of his head. You spun back around and your heart crumbled when you saw who it was that had killed the man, saving your life by taking another’s.

Riki was holding the gun in shaky hands, barely able to keep it steady and his eyes were wide in shock and horror, keeping it pointed in your direction despite the threat being gone now.

“Riki.” You were saying softly, still frozen but raising your hands in surrender and taking a small step towards him. You didn’t necessarily think he would hurt you but he clearly wasn’t thinking straight and his fingers were still dangerously tight around the trigger. “Riki, it’s okay. You got him, he’s dead.”

His eyes shot to yours at the words and his face softened slightly, letting you approach and take the gun from his rigid hands.

He was dropping his shoulders in relief once the metal was out of his hands, shocking you by pulling you in for a tight hug that knocked the air out of your lungs. You returned it after a few seconds, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and squeezing him tightly with your eyes shut. You could hear the others moving around, untying Heeseung and greeting the others.

After Riki let you go and went to sit down in the corner and calm down, you quickly administered the medication into Sunghoon’s veins and sighed softly at the heavy breath he took at the feeling of it entering his system. You pushed his damp hair off his sweaty forehead and smiled softly at him even though he couldn’t see it, happy he had managed to fight for this long.

You were standing up again and immediately bumping into another frame, pausing until you realized it was Heeseung.

His hands were coming up to cup your face and you smiled at him in relief despite the cuts on his face and the noticeable black eye that you imagined had come from the struggle with the looters that had led to him being the only one tied up. “You gave them hell didn’t you.”

He laughed softly at your words and nodded his head, eyes gentle as he looked down at you and you felt your heart clench uncomfortably at both his expression and how much you had missed him.

You thought this about them all as the night continued on, telling them how your run had gone and listening to them laugh and tell funny stories that you didn’t fully understand but you still felt a lightness in your heart just from how excited they sounded about remembering the smallest details of things that had happened to them together in the old world.

Riki was still a but subdued after what had happened, not speaking much and staying in the corner as you all ate dinner and took sips from the liquor bottle the three of you had found on the trip. He seemed a bit out of it and your heart felt heavy after Jungwon had leaned in to whisper and explain to you that he had never killed somebody before.

You felt guilty that he had done something like that to save you, your own mistake for not assuming there was another person still outside or checking the tracks more carefully because you were too worried about them and too focus on getting inside as soon as possible. Your care was making you stupid and making you weak, leaving the youngest to lose a piece of himself to fix your mistake.

It was this that made up your mind for you, solidifying that you couldn’t stay here with them any longer or else things like this would keep happening. You’d have to continue to risk yourself for them and vice versa, you couldn’t take watching them hurt themselves in the name of saving you or each other and you knew now that they were always going to put the others and you over themselves individually.

You kept reminding yourself this as you silently packed your bag, waiting for the others to fall asleep and leave you on watch duty before you were preparing to slip out.

You’d stay in the woods outside the camp for the night and make sure nothing hurt them during your watch cycle and then you were going to disappear into the dark cover of the trees once the next person on the rotation woke up and found you missing. You left them all of the medication and food, taking nothing but your change of clothes and your knives.

The crickets were extra loud as you made your way outside, having carefully stepped over the sleeping boys and left a note with detailed instructions on which medications to give to Sunghoon and when. You included a small goodbye sentence just so they knew you hadn’t been taken and didn’t get hurt trying to find you, although you had a feeling they’d try anyways.

You were barely off the porch, your foot hitting the dirt softly and feeling the cold chill of the night when a voice behind you was causing you to jump and spin around.

“So that’s it then?” You whipped around with wide eyes but your face crumbled when you realized who it was, seeing Heeseung come out of the shadows with a hurt expression and hooded eyes. “You’re not even going to say goodbye?”

You froze as you looked at him, words falling short as your mouth open and closed in silence. He scoffed as he looked at you, turning his head away as his eyes teared up slightly but he shook his head in anger before taking a few steps in your direction with a raised accusatory finger.

“You’re just going to leave after all this?” He was spitting out at you and the tone of his voice, the disgust lacing his words, made your heart drop into your stomach with a crushing weight.

“I have to.” You replied back with desperation, your face curling up in anguish and you tried to get him to understand even slightly what your reasoning was. “Sunghoon almost died Heeseung, and Riki he… these things will keep happening.”

“He didn’t die.” He was almost yelling now and you flinched back at the volume of his voice, having half a mind to shush him softly and watching the way his face curled up in anger at the sound slipping through your lips. “He didn’t die Y/N, and you were the one who made sure of that. You care about us, I know you do.”

You didn’t know how to reply to that, not wanting to correct him especially when he wasn’t wrong.

You did care about them and it was making your skin crawl every time you found yourself smiling affectionately at one of their offhanded jokes or paying extra attention to their wounds and bruises. Even more so with the boy in front of you with the gentle way he touched you to make sure you weren’t injured, when his face was lit up by campfires or his determination to lead a group of boys through a world he himself didn’t understand.

“I can’t watch it happen.” Your voice was breaking and your shoulders sagged in upset, exhaustion wracking through you both emotionally and physically. “And it always happens, Hee.”

“It won’t happen this time.” He was taking more steps towards you and his hands were shakily coming up to hold your face, staring down at you with his own sense of determination to try and help you see his side of things. “Why didn’t you say bye to me?”

He was asking but you knew he already knew your answer and you tried to pull out of his touch to avoid answering, stopping when his thumb was gently rubbing your cheek and shaking his head to try and stop you.

“Because you wouldn’t be able to leave.” He was answering for you, filling in the blank and giving you a soft sad smile that made you break into a sob, your first time allowing yourself to cry for as long as you could remember. “Right? Tell me I’m right.”

You didn’t say anything but you didn’t need to, feeling him pull you in tightly against his chest as you fully let yourself feel the wave of your emotions, restricting them for so long in the name of survival and fighting to make it through the day.

Heeseung was keeping you in his embrace even when your legs were giving out and you were sinking to the floor in his arms, your hands hitting the dirt and feeling it mold between your fingers. You hooked your head over his shoulder and shut your eyes tight when your gaze fell on the body of the man you’d killed so easily earlier.

You let him hold you like that until your sobs were slowing down and the blood was drying in the grass.

You stayed like that far longer than you’d realized, sitting still and frozen until your cries slowed down and his blood had fully dried in the grass.

[liquidorcard]

Lily Orchard is very politically opportunistic and her posts on Palestine show how blatant this is. She presents herself as militantly anti-fascist and anti-hate, she claims to hate centrists who try to give fascists a space to speak (instead implying she'd be willing to use violence to stop them). But like, as soon as it comes to electoral topics, she aggressively, AGGRESSIGELY insists that the liberal centrist parties are the only viable option. Like, the guys she pretends to hate. To the point where she's victim blaming activists for Democrats losing the election and telling people not to listen to activists when they call for a boycott against the liberal centrists who are upholding the right for fascists to speak and politically act. She pretends to be a leftist, but it's blatantly performative, the reality is that she is centre right and she seems to hate herself for it. Kind of sad, honestly.

I've said something before here that Lily and I grew up in similar environments? Well, I honestly think that has something to do with it.

I grew up in a very right-wing household in a very right-wing community that like, I knew I knew from a very young age I wasn't ever going to be accepted in. Assigned Reject at Birth. You know, it's one of the many ways religious and right-wing spaces just tare apart interpersonal connections important to the human psyche. That makes a wound in people. I won't go into detail, but my home life was bad to begin with. Being queer just made it that much worse.

Before moving away for college, I very much believed I was the most left-wing any human being on this earth could possibly be. I thought I was going to be met with open arms and the unconditional human acceptance I had always wanted, even though I wasn't fully cognitively aware of that.

I wasn't. And I feel people were even less forgiving of my lack of leftist literacy because I was a queer AFAB and concluded there was no excuse for me to be as ignorant as I was.

Now, I know the discussion of the social policing and virtue grandstanding gets flattened of any nuance online so the right can use it against the left, so I want to make sure I'm clear with what I'm about to say. No, the left should not be tolerant of bigotry. No, not every right-wing nut job can be deradicalized by hand-holding them through their own come to Jesus moment. Nor is anyone owed that emotional energy from you. But when you were raised right-wing, even if you grew to resent it, a person needs time to be deprogrammed. And, I know this might upset people to hear, but you won't understand how much of a privilege it is to be raised in a more liberal household unless you weren't. People who were can sometimes be, what I feel is unreasonably hostile to those of us who don't know any better because we haven't had the chance to learn.

It also just so happens I started college in 2015, right when gamergate went down. And it was an art school. Really, it was a uniquely not very ideal environment to rid myself of right-wing brain worms. And in a very real way, it retraumatized me getting rejected for not having the sociopolitical context to understand everything I was expected to. I'm not blaming anyone in particular for that-- that is more an unfortunate symptom of the anti-social rot the right causes, but it wasn't a good time. I think some people could have been kinder, and to this day I do my best to be charitable with meeting people where they're at myself. And I do think there is a problem in the left, especially online, failing to read between the lines and respond appropriately-- especially when it comes to vocabulary choice. You know, sometimes people use dogwhistles without the proper context to understand they are dogwhistling, sometimes people are just genuinely misinformed and lack the language to ask the questions they have, and vocabulary does shape perception. Right-wing ideology only can survive on the basis of rigid, strict, conceptually or literally divine hierarchy. Right-wing language is shaped on the premise of that hierarchy. The reason why a lot of social progress doesn't make sense to right-wingers and is almost impossible to communicate properly in right-wing language is because it disregards the premise of that hierarchy. Right-wingers don't literally live in a separate reality, but they kind of functionally do. Mentally. For people who are more on the right, but open minded enough to genuinely learn and want to, it's better to use as their language as much as possible to explain to them things that can ease them out of the premise of that mental trap of explicit social hierarchy in a gentler fashion.

With all that said, the root cause was still that right-wing upbringing.

I feel I have more than enough reason to very confidently say Lily went through a very similar experience to me. A shitty childhood for a lot of reasons, but one of them for sure being a queer person in an extremely right-wing household. She has a hypersensitivity to feeling shame and will go to extreme measures to avoid it, she feels isolated and desperate for acceptance in an extremely unhealthy way. In one regard she was knee-capped significantly in her ability to function socially that I wasn't, in that her parents decided she was a simpleton when she was very young, basically wrote her off and conditioned her to never take accountability. Though being overly critical of children is equally harmful (though in different ways), dismissing a child of all agency because you think they're too stupid to handle it can result in a lot more damage to everyone around them aswell as themselves and is a form of emotional neglect.

Online I think she searched out for a community that would accept her, and when that did not work out for her, when she experienced that retraumatization again of rejection . . . She took some very interesting lessons away from that. The wrong ones.

And, glass houses, it took me a whole journey aswell to get where I am. But I was conditioned to internalize social rejection, for better or worse. Lily was not. She is aggressively, profoundly, depressingly incapable of self-reflection, in healthy or in unhealthy amounts-- and even though that's not wholly her fault, she's a big girl now, and she's the only one left to accept responsibility for that. As someone myself who feels deeply angry at the ways I was psychologically damaged, I'm speaking as someone who has accepted that dwelling on how unfair it is that I have to be held accountable for that isn't going to improve my situation.

Believe it or not, I don't think Lily is inherently stupid. I think she was treated like she was stupid since she was young, and has put a lot of energy into pantomiming intellectualism instead of actually learning stuff. Again, glass houses, I also learned how to pretend I am smarter than I actually am out of an extreme aversion to shame-- but I can tell I have more actual knowledge, interest and curiosity to learn than Lily does.

I don't think Lily has any interest in learning about left-wing politics, and I don't think she has actually deprogrammed herself from the right-wing environment she was raised in. She has no motivation to care, and likely still is deeply bitter about the social rejection she's experienced in left-wing spaces. However, she has a lot of social capital to gain by PRETENDING she is.

And pretending is enough for the people she courts in her audience.

[godbirdart]

in what universe is someone going to see a DNI that applies to them and think "this person is definitely someone im going to enjoy following and get along with". do you go on twitter and see nazis saying they hate trans people and decide to follow them out of spite? of course not, and literally nobody else does that either, even on the other side. hell forget DNIs, I get less conservatives in my notifs than I used to just by having they/them pronouns in my bio because they see it and go "ew, I'm not following them". people dont typically follow people theyre clearly not going to feel welcome around, a DNI is just another way to communicate that.

1 - you don't have to Get Along with someone to follow them. people can and will hate-follow or follow to annoy you, block evade, etc out of spite. some people will interact with you just because you told them, or people like them, not to.

2 - your experiences are not universal. nazis, terfs, bigots in general, they can and will follow and harass people they don't like online. this is spoken from my own experience as someone who has seen his transfem friends be followed and harassed by alt-right nut jobs online.

3 - "forget DNIs, I get less conservatives in my notifs than I used to just by having they/them pronouns in my bio" ← you're right. this is effective because the vast majority of people regardless of political stance or belief will only ever read your bio. not many people are going to jump through hyperlinks to read your DNI. if they don't like what they read in your bio, they'll just leave [or possibly harass you, if they're particularly malicious]. ergo, making a DNI is largely just for yourself and not at all a real, useful barrier people must pass through in order to follow / engage with your posts.

no one is stopping you from making a DNI. you can write a terms-of-service length novel of a Do Not Interact list, put it on its own Carrd and make it aesthetic and pretty with flair. you're completely free to do so and tell people to read it. a few will, sure.

however. the post you're referencing is specifically addressing the glaring reality that most people, regardless if they fit your DNI criteria or not, are simply not going to go out of their way to find and read it. abusive people aren't going to see "DNI abusive assholes" and be deterred because they themselves don't consider themselves abusive. this post, particularly what OP wrote, is saying how it's much more proactive to curate your own space through utilizing the block button and tag filters when you see things and people you don't want to engage with instead of trying to impose your personal boundaries on strangers online.

addendum // i don't really care if teens are making DNIs and being aggressively annoying about em. i remember the era of setting weird arbitrary rules in my developing years while i was forming Who I Was as a person. they're figuring out who they are and what their comfort levels are. i get it. it's the grownass adults that are hyper-virulent about DNIs that i worry about - and i'm not talking about when they're trying to establish an adults-only space with a stern "minors DNI".

note: what i'm talking about below, i am Not referring to literally illegal and harmful activities / content. just want to be clear.

now, i'm not saying you have to welcome and embrace the content you don't like, but it's important to challenge yourself and toe your comfort boundaries. if you over-prune yourself trying to be the bestest morally correct person, at some point you're going to start boxing yourself into this narrowed teeny tiny worldview. you may turn into the person you claim to have loathed, imposing personal beliefs and morals on others, and brandishing your DNI like it's a certificate of righteousness; not unlike how conservatives wave around religious scripture while pruning away LGBTQ+ rights because it goes against their morality. a few examples of this are topics such as: kink at pride, and the language discrepancies between the younger and older generations of the LGBTQ+ community - particularly in regards to self-identifying with words such as Queer and Dyke and Transsexual.

i probably derailed a bit here, i'm answering this before my caffeine's fully kicked in. if i vaguely worded something or yall want more elaboration on something, don't hesitate to ask

[stardewremixed]

Alex headcanons

Wanted to be a knight when he was a child. Horse and lance, sword and suit of armor. Shiny. Made one out of tinfoil, scraps of Evelyn's fabric, and a broom stick. Neighbor kids made fun of him. He didn't dress up again.

Joined a yoga class on a dare. Well actually because he saw a pretty girl through the window and straight up walked into the glass. The instructor made him take the class. Something about balance and coordination.

Almost thought about joining the army right outta high school. He barely passed and wasn't sure college was for him. But the thought of dying while his grandparents (his only relatives) still lived qnd didnt have anyone to take care of them was too unnerving. He didn't want to leave them all alone. Still likes war movies sometimes.

Conscientious about his scent. Keeps his pit hairs trimmed. Religious about showering after working out. Keeps a spare deodorant in his truck. Leaves a trail of cologne - clean, just-out-of-shower scent, not too weighty, a bit soapy, rainforest mist like.

Has helped Sam out with his community service before because this man weirdly loves digging fence posts.

Also loves carrying things - groceries for his grandma (or the pretty farmer), barrels of ale and whiskey, folding tables from festivals, tools up a ladder, etc. Both arms full. Things normal people can carry on multiple trips. Alex gets it all and doesn't break a sweat. Would carry the farmer too (if she'd let him - and you know he's carrying her bridal style on their wedding night).

Loves a challenging ropes course. Can rappel down a wall or a mountain side. Can complete a obstacle course faster than anyone else. Would give Kent a run for his money at army crawling. Absolutely goes nuts about hiking, bouldering, free climbing too. Would probably do spelunking too if... he wasn't a teeny but afraid of the dark... because...

Kept a nightlight in his room until he was a teenager. It's why he never did sleepovers with the other kids. That and he hit puberty early. Towering over grade schoolers was only cool for like a minute. But you can reach things on the top shelf, I guess.

Occasionally freelances for the Adventurer's Guild. Gives guided hiking tours up into the mountains above the Valley or secret woods for tourists. He would be enthusiastic too - swinging his arms and waving his hands around while telling stories and pointing out cool sights.

His hugs are big, and leave you feeling wrapped up, but in a good way. Like a cozy warm blanket. You feel safe and loved.

He's a cuddler... while you watch TV together, while you read books together (yes, he likes sports magazines and biographies of his heroes), and while you sleep. He's definitely the big spoon and makes you feel cherished. That's until he starts snoring... lightly. You'll have to nudge him to stop. And those arms do get... heavy. And he's definitely elbowed his companion in bed before.

He's a bit of a wimp when it comes to shots. It's why he would never get a tattoo or get his ears pierced. He doesn't like needles. (They might also remind him of his mom and her treatments when he was little).

He once posed for a campaign poster for a lumberjack festival. Lewis had little success. Only a dozen young girls showed up on the bus that day. No actual woodchoppers. Needless to say, Alex kills it in plaid. Think Brawny paper towel guy vibes without the facial hair.

Also did a modeling gig for Pierre once to sell some winter gear. Haley took the photos. Alex is a natural in front of the camera. Again, lots of female visitors... erm... customers to the town for a period of two days. He may or may not have autographed the ad for one of the ladies.

He's shouldered a lot of responsibility from a young age. His dad ran out on them. His mom was sick. His grandparents aren't the healthiest. Alex has picked up odd jobs since he was eight. Recycling bottlecaps. ♻️ Washing cars. Lemonade stand. 🍋

Delivering newspapers was one of his first real paying gigs. Granny gave him one of George's old newsboy caps. Alex wore it with pride. He's got an incredible swing for it. Also led him to be interested in baseball. He played three seasons in Little League as a pitcher before he became fascinated with gridball. 📰

It was actually Grandpa George who got him into gridball. Watching games together on TV, critiquing the players, talking technique. Male bonding stuff. He wants to take George to a pro game one day, proudly wheeling his Gramps into the stadium. 🏈

One of his first jobs as a young adult was at the local hospital. It's how he paid for his first apartment. He wheeled people up from their appointments to get picked up at curbside. Just like with his mom when he was a young teen. It felt like a good way to keep giving back even after she was gone. New moms. Dialysis patients. Kids with broken legs from falling off a skateboard ramp...

That's how he met Sam actually. (I like to think these two would be sort-of friends). Sam talked about music and boarding and surfing. Alex talked about the high school Alma Mater fight song and baseball and weightlifting.

Sam and Alex built an epic sandcastle village on the beach one year at the Luau. Both were bored. Vincent helped too. It was impressive... until high tide came in. Haley snapped a photo first at least.

Inspired by Grandpa George, he took a dance class. That's how he met Haley (when they were late teens). He was her favorite dance partner. He could actually lift her without dropping her. And he didn't step on his toes. He's actually pretty light on his feet. Tried tap dancing too but that wasn't as successful (or cool looking).

Named MVP for his high school gridball team. Would've gone on to play in uni but just didn't have the grades. And he needed to stay close for Granny and George. Still keeps his trophies from every sport he's ever played in his room.

Would challenge anyone to an arm wrestling contest any day. Has actually made some money at the Stardew Valley Fair this way. Out of towners might underestimate him. Amateurs! Shane is the only one who's come close to besting Alex and only then because he was drunk. Sober Shane might have stood a chance.

Bought George a big recliner with his very first paycheck from his adult job. Comfy cushions, high quality leather, great arm rests. George never sits in it because he had his mining accident shortly after and so it sits unused in a storage closest somewhere collecting dust. Still every once in a while, George wheels by and thinks about his grandson's thoughtfulness.

Will carry any of the Farmer's picked produce back to the bins, trekking across the fields, or will personally deliver products to Pierre's. By the armful. Corn, lettuce, bushels of broccoli, squash, grapes, tomatoes. He can carry 3 or 4 buckets at a time. Or by the basket. The big round baskets that the average person can only carry one at a time.

Likes the smell of freshly washed cars. And the air after it rains. New leather on a ball. Granny's freshly baked cookies.

Would literally be your shoulder to cry on. No seriously, people have. His mom before she passed. Evelyn after her frustrations with George. Haley after a boy she liked dumped her. Even Emily after one awkward moment as she was taking out the trash behind the Saloon and felt overwhelmed about a disturbing vision she had. He is always willing to comfort those he cares about.

Doesn't really cook but he can make a mean cheesy macaroni casserole. It's one of the few recipes he learned as a boy that has stuck with him.

Feels strongly about cheating in sports. And popping pills to make someone stronger. Especially because his mom was ill. He knows there are people out there who really need medicines. Illegal drugs are a disgrace to the profession.

Would absolutely spend his days fixing up the farmhouse, repairing the barn, sprucing the greenhouse, patching up the chicken coop while the farmer worked the fields and orchards and took care of livestock. I have this longstanding belief that Alex would make an excellent handyman in the Valley. Maybe it starts out as an apprenticeship with Robin. He's gifted with a sander, a wrench, a saw. And this man looks great in a backward cap, tight jeans, and a tool belt. He likes to feel useful, stay busy, and work with his hands. Painting your bedroom and repairing your shower leak would be his first projects once moving to the farm.

[sleepingdeath-light]

various killers vs no nut november hcs ; 18+

requested by ; disney anon (event)

fandom(s) ; dead by daylight

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; adiris / the plague, albert wesker / the mastermind, amanda young / the pig, anna / the huntress, carmina mora / the artist, ji-woon hak / the trickster, sally smithson / the nurse

warning(s) ; sexually explicit content, various characters failing the ‘no nut november’ challenge

note ; first time writing for a lot of the characters on this post so the characterisation may be a smidge shaky…

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

adiris / the plague

adiris would find this ‘challenge’ to be incredibly easy — practically child’s play — and as such is pretty much guarenteed to make it through the whole month without issue

partly because of her naturally quite low sex drive and partly because she barely has the time to tend to her own needs anyway so nnn isn’t something that will impact her daily routine all that much anyway so it’s all too easy for her to just… do it

she focuses on her prayers and rituals and the trials, throws herself into her worship and into taking care of you, and the challenge itself (and all thoughts of sex and orgasming in general) slips from her mind entirely

there are more important things at hand than her personal pleasure, after all, so it becomes almost second nature for her to ignore those urges

she also, in her own way, tries to help you make it through the month by encouraging you to distract yourself with other tasks — e.g. helping her with her religious rituals, teaching you her native language between trials, doing housekeeping around your place of residence in the realms, fetching back things from the trails to help distract you (like a book she thinks may interest you or some device for you to try and fix), etc.

and if you do happen to lose nnn, adiris won’t hold it against you or tease you for it — hell, she’ll probably show her support for you lasting as long as you could before encouraging you to try and hold out for the rest of november just to test your own resilience

… she’s not gonna break with you, though, she’s very good at sticking with things once she’s set her mind to it

albert wesker / the mastermind

has coincidentally ‘won’ nnn in the past when he’s been super caught up in his research and experiments, has also ‘lost’ nnn a lot before then because he doesn’t give a shit about the challenge and sees it as kinda pathetic — like he can do it, but why would he ignore his own needs for something so stupid? it all seems below him, honestly

won’t participate if asked, but won’t stop you from participating in the challenge if you’re determined to do so — that being said he will not make it easy for you by any stretch of the imagination

like he’ll respect that you don’t want to fuck and you don’t want him to make you cum (he’s an asshole, sure, but even he can offer that bare minimum level of respect to his partner), but he’s also the type to remind you that you don’t need to cum in order to get him off and will encourage you to help him out throughout the month

thigh fucking, deep throating, cock warming (in your throat or inside of you if he’s really mean/you’re really desperate to feel him like that), hand jobs, and so on — hell, he’s even open to using you like a glorified cock sleeve and just edging you until he’s had his fill if you’ll let him

as long as he gets to let out all his pent up frustration, albert couldn’t give less of a shit whether you cum or not — and, sadist that he is, he’s also very good at keeping you from cumming so there’s no need to worry about losing the challenge with him

… at least until you lose your composure and beg him to fuck you stupid, because nobody could last very long when faced with all of the mastermind’s attention

amanda young / the pig

whether amanda succeeds or fails nnn is entirely down to how you approach the challenge as her partner — more specifically it depends on how you propose the idea of participating to her, whether you’re participating with her or not, and what you offer her as a reward for lasting the whole month

if you frame it as a challenge to prove her resilience, or as an unorthodox attempt to try and improve her performance and focus during the entity’s trials, then she’s going to be all for participating and will most likely succeed due to her dedication to the cause

if you participate alongside her then she has more motivation to see nnn through to the end because she has to prove herself to you — you’re the most important person in her life now, the only one worth saving, so she can’t let you down

and if you offer a particularly tantalising prize, like offering her full reign in the bedroom and to shower her in well-earned praise for her success, then she’s going to be much more determined to push through her temptation to remain celibate for the full thirty days — yes, even if you do your best to try and break her (amanda is nothing if not praise oriented)

that’s not to say that it’s downright impossible to get her to fail, but it will be incredibly difficult to get her to give up on her goal — especially if you went hard on the whole prize thing before she started

like if you are persistent enough (read: are enough of an attractive and horny nuisance) then she will break eventually, but she’s not going to make it easy to get her back in your bed if she’s set her mind to completing the challenge you set for her — once it’s over, however, rest assured you won’t be leaving your bed until it’s december second and you’re absolutely covered in hickeys

anna / the huntress

if you ask anna to participate in nnn with you then she will, but otherwise she has no knowledge of the challenge and thus no real reason to participate (or even to want to participate) — then again you could argue that before meeting you that she was playing the game every year and winning because of her celibacy and that she’s almost guaranteed to succeed this time around too because she’s very used to not getting off and prioritising other things over that (namely survival because… duh)

and, naturally, if left to her own devices she’ll have a very easy time of it and will probably forget about the challenge altogether as she turns her attention towards hunting the participants and keeping you safe

but there is way to make her lose if you really want to do so

as mentioned previously, the second she gets sent into a new trial all ideas about the nnn challenge go straight out of her head, so if you catch her after she returns home and offer to help her celebrate her success with some sex/oral/whatever then she’s going to be too caught up in her adrenaline high to even begin to give a shit about nnn

(not that she even cares about losing once she realises, but anyway…)

so, yeah, while on her own huntress is pretty much guaranteed to succeed because of how little she cares for the challenge — but that lack of care is also the very thing that makes it so easy for you to trip her up

carmina moris / the artist

was already vaguely aware of nnn as a concept before she was taken by the entity, but never really saw any point in partaking since there were more important things in life for her to worry about over a random challenge — and, likewise, would only end up participating nowadays solely because you decided to partake and she isn’t really a big fan of masturbation

meaning that if you last the whole month then she’ll ‘win’ nnn with you, but she’s also not going to be too bothered if you crack earlier on because, again, she isn’t the one that chose to participate in the challenge

carmina isn’t the type of partner who will try and make you fail — in fact she’ll offer you bits of encouragement here and there if winning nnn is important to you and she notices you struggling — but she will start to get a bit noticeably antsy towards the end of the month because, well, she misses having sex with you but doesn’t want to push you to fail so she’ll just wallow on her own and try and distract herself with her art and chores and trials for that last stretch

but, rest assured, once december finally rolls around she will be more than happy to make up for everything she’s been missing out on for the last thirty days — and, arguably, spending the better part of the day having the thoughts slowly but surely fucked from your brain by your loving partner is a pretty good reward for making it through the whole of nnn so, really, you’re getting the better end of this bargain no matter whether you win or lose

ji-woon hak / the trickster

would probably only participate in order to prove a point to you about something or another (his self control? maybe?), but wouldn’t actually be able to make it through the entirety of november

almost definitely lost during the first week or so because he was so pent up he couldn’t not jack off, but pretended it never happened and would keep up the act of complete celibacy and restraint until december rolls around — the whole time bragging and showing off just how much control he has over his body and his desires

does not feel even remotely bad about his deception, also tries his best to make you lose because he’s that type of person

and he’s not subtle about what he’s doing when he’s trying to get you to crumble, which arguably only makes the whole situation worse for you because he goes out of his way to do the things he knows you like, to say the things that get you all hot under the collar, makes a real performance out of it all, and you have to sit there and put up with your aching need until he gets bored and wanders off to do something else or he’s dragged into another trial to let off some steam

(and, to make it all the worse — or better, depending on your tastes — for you, once you do finally give in and beg him to make you cum he will tease you endlessly for being so desperate for him… despite the fact that he cracked super early into nnn… asshole)

sally smithson / the nurse

now if she were on her own this challenge wouldn’t even come up on sally’s radar — both during her time in the realms and even well before then — but if you decide to bring it up to her and ask her to participate with you then she’ll probably go along with it

… even if she really doesn’t get the point of nnn

again, if left to her own devices she’ll last out the whole month with ease — she’s more concerned with being present with you and doting on you as best she can as your partner than she is with sex, after all — but if you’re intent on getting her to fail the challenge then it’s shockingly easy to do so

after all, sally is a giver in the bedroom and always struggles to say no to you when you’re showering her with affection and praise, and when you’re making it abundantly clear how much you need her attention — so utilising all of those factors is pretty much guarenteed to have her crumbling

or, alternatively, just let yourself fail on your own time and bring it up to sally after the fact (or time it so she’ll catch you masturbating between or after a trial) and she’ll have no qualms with dropping the challenge altogether and going back to being physically intimate with you — after all, the only reason she agreed to participate in nnn was because you asked her to do so… without you doing it with her she has no reason to continue and, so, won’t

[theminecraftbee]

There’s a flier someone’s left on the bus. Something shaming a—company logo he doesn’t recognize, as he shoves it aside to grab the last seat in the back that usually means he and Gem don’t have to sit next to anyone else—for “desecration of the Carrows Life”. Alright; with a logo and a slogan like that, it’s either a religious nut job or one of the people real mad at the Church about the demons.

Yeah, sure. He’s exhausted. Impulse can’t really bring himself to care about neon-yellow fliers in the dead of night on the bus.

Just another hour and practically every single stop down the line, and he’ll be home. He’s glad there’s a late-night bus down here; enough people come and go from these streets at two am that they make some poor bus driver do the route.

Next to him, Gem grumbles as she removes her makeup. “Impulse, why do I keep getting the waterproof kind?”

“Hard to dance and still look good if it doesn’t stand up to sweat,” Impulse says, settling into his seat as the bus starts moving again. “Don’t see why that should make it that much harder to remove, unless you’re sweating acetone these days, but they don’t pay me to know how your makeup works.”

“No, they pay you to be your stupid big protective butt. You absolutely know how my makeup works,” Gem says.

“You could wait until we aren’t on a moving bus to take it off?” Impulse offers.

“Nah. I need something to do so I don’t fall asleep, and I’m not opening my other bag until we’re both safely at home.”

“Yeah, fair,” Impulse says, not glancing at it for too long. Gem had a good night tonight. Sometimes, he’s jealous of the nights she has; the amount people are willing to throw at her sometimes is insane. Most of the time, though, he’s just glad he’s paid a regular salary to stand in the corner and occasionally show people exactly why he’s so big if they act up.

(Someone’s got to do it.)

The doors open. The unmistakeable smell of someone on way, way too much weed wafts through the doors. Impulse sighs. There’s a reason they sit in the back.

“What are the odds we get lucky and get home early?” Gem says. “My knee hurts.”

Impulse looks at her sharply. “You didn’t say anything during the show.”

Gem laughs. “Relax, relax. Not that bad. Nothing a bit of icyhot won’t solve, or one of your little…” She wiggles her fingers.

“You need to tell me these things before you dance on them, Gem,” Impulse says. “One of these days, I won’t be able to fix it! Then what are you gonna do about your knee, huh?”

“Uhuh. And the bruise on your face…?”

“He was drunk,” Impulse says. “It’s barely a scratch. Or, uh, well, it’s a bruise, but…”

“If I were any good at healing,” Gem says.

“I’ll ice it!” Impulse says, putting his hands up. “Besides, I don’t need my face to do my job. Might make guys respect me more?”

The bus stops. A few more people get on. There’s a bit of shouting from a drunk guy, and it makes Impulse look up on instinct, both his and Gem’s awareness hovering around their bag. Gem has a nasty curse on it if anyone but her tries to grab it, but these days…

The drunkard isn’t looking their way. He settles down again. Impulse doesn’t.

“One day, one of us will get a car, and we’ll just drive,” Impulse mutters.

“And pay for parking?” Gem asks.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts,” Impulse says.

The bus stops. Impulse looks up at the sign, just to make sure they aren’t near their stop. They aren’t. He almost looks down.

There’s a feeling in his gut. He doesn’t ignore gut feelings after as long as he’s been doing what he does. He puts a hand in his jacket. He doesn’t actually carry a gun; people think he does, but he’s fairly effective at threatening without it, and if all else fails, he does have a thick vest he’d bought with his own money after the only time he’d been shot. It had taken all of his savings, but it had been worth it.

He curls his fingers instead around the lucky charm Gem had given him after they’d become roommates and tries to focus on the feeling. There's something scraping nearby. A horrible scraping, like talons against brick, or maybe more like death clawing against soil.

The bus starts moving again. The drunks stay drunk. The fellow exhausted club and bar workers stay exhausted. The guy who’s high out of his mind doesn’t even blink.

A woman who had gotten on the bus, though, approaches them. Gem stiffens. Impulse is hyper-aware of the bag full of the night’s tips that Gem has with her.

“Hello. Sorry for interrupting,” the woman says. She’s tall. She has long, light brown hair that she hasn’t tied back. She’s wearing a long overcoat. It looks second-hand, but not properly so, like it’s being worn by someone who doesn’t quite know how to fit into second-hand clothes, or perhaps doesn’t quite know how not to fit.

There's bruises on her face, too. A split lip and a black eye and a bit of blood on the collar of her shirt.

"You look lost," Impulse says without thinking. The woman blinks.

"Oh! Yes, I suppose you could say that," she says. "That's..."

Impulse slowly takes his hand out of his jacket. Her voice is even more lost, somehow. Impeccably put-together. Very hard to read. But Impulse, he has to read people for a living, and this is a woman who is lost.

"I was just here because you two look the most aware and fit on the bus," she says.

"Oh, I'm not all that fit," Gem lies to the woman's face. "I mean, just look at me! I'm delicate!"

Impulse has seen Gem's abs. She's not delicate, she just puts on a show of being—still not delicate, actually, but the kind of not-delicate men like, not the kind of not-delicate she actually is. It's a fine line.

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Okay," she says. "I'm just—there are demons. Not far. I got away from them, but they might be following you."

"They're following you?" says Gem.

"Shhh," says the woman.

"Fine," Impulse says. "They're following you. Why? And why did you get on the bus?"

The woman is silent for a moment. "I don't think they'll catch up to us," she says. "I don't—I don't have another place to go back to, right now. I'm a bit... I don't mean to put anyone in danger. You two are the most fit looking people on here, is all. If danger did happen..."

Impulse feels something in him crack. He looks at Gem. It wouldn't be the first time the two of them have helped someone down on their luck off the streets. Of course, it's not entirely out of the goodness of their hearts, all the time, but, well, Impulse is still Impulse and Gem puts up with it and this world doesn't work if people don't help each other, Impulse has always said.

Gem shrugs and nods.

"Sit down. You can get off at our stop. My name's Gem, by the way."

The woman, slowly, sits down in a seat across from them.

"Impulse," Impulse says.

The woman opens her mouth. The woman closes it. "You can call me Griba," she says, finally.

Impulse quirks an eyebrow. "I can call you?"

"Hey, that sounds like—wasn't there someone with a name like that on the news recently?" Gem says.

The woman grimaces. "You could say that," she says.

Gem and Impulse look at each other. They look back at the woman. "Fine then. Keep your secrets," Gem says imperiously, and her tone works, because it makes—Griba, Impulse supposes, until she wants to give them her real name—laugh.

"At least until we find out if the demons get me," she says agreeably.

The bus stops again. They all tense. One person gets off and no one gets on. The bus starts moving again.

"One of these days," Impulse mutters.

"You've got to finish the sentence," Gem says. "Don't leave me hanging like that!"

"Is this an ongoing thing?" Griba says, and they continue onwards together.

[lizablee]

I'm so happy about Imogen and Laudna but I can't help but feel sad about FCG, and I think I've worked out why.

When we compare what Imogen and Laudna have with FCG and FRIDA, it makes it clear the difference between a long and true love built on friendship and a romance built on infatuation. These two automatons finally met someone they had a bunch in common with and immediately fell in love, Romeo and Juliet style. As in stupid love. Romeo and Juliet were young, dumb and full of daggers. FCG only has a few years of memories and has been blown away by this more put-together version of themself. Suddenly, they were ready to attach all their self worth to this person, to the point where just a bit of attention from FRIDA is enough to distract FCG from their impending breakdown.

And now FRIDA is gone, and they know they have a job to do and need to be fine. They can't afford to let themselves feel abandoned or lonely. They try to downplay their own feelings, try to minimise their pain. That's what they need to do to be useful. Suddenly they are back in the company of the people they care about most in the world, but it's a little colder. Nobody cares about FCG the way FRIDA does. Except, maybe...

Ashton and FCG FINALLY have a one-on-one chat with each other, but while most people seem to be celebrating them supporting each other and being happy for each other, I'm looking at it like

Because Ashton is having a manic episode. I've been there. They are there calling themself worthless, calling themself ineffective. They are trashing themself and swearing to turn over a new leaf, be useful and heroic. They are on a mission, moving so quickly and purposefully that everyone around them seems to be slowing down. Suddenly they are frustrated and disgusted by the same self destructive behaviour that has always been woven into their character. And hating it in themself, they start to hate it reflected in others. Especially FCG, who deserves better, and they've always thought so. But success! FCG is in a loving relationship now. It's different from their weird, co-dependent friendship. Because of course it is. Now surely FCG has a reason to live. And Ashton can finally relax and stop trying to save FCG. They can stop focusing on themselves and focus on the goal. After all, they both feel better now, right?

Right.

FCG, on the other hand, is hearing Ashton go off and feeling happy for them! Because FCG is just as brain broke as Ashton. FCG thinks it's cool and normal to throw yourself into a new lifestyle because you don't like or trust yourself. They just committed themself to the worship of a goddess they barely know! And also the Changebringer!

"I am so tired of saving you from yourself."

What a thing to say to FCG, who is constantly trying to save everyone else. Ashton doesn't mean it in a bad way, they are just not seeing the full picture. They think FCG's slef destructive problems are kinda solved now. FCG has a boyfriend after all.

To be clear, FCG isn't offended either. They would be tired of saving themself too. They are already pretty convinced of their own lack of value, beyond their utility to others. In the future, I think they'll hesitate to tell Ashton when they're not doing well. Because Ashton was so happy when he thought he didn't need to save FCG any more.

They're still close to snapping. They will probably snap soon. We will just need to wait and see what happens when they do.

But what do I know, it's fuckin Sam Riegel, he will probably have FCG double down and become a full blown Gods squad religious nut and still make us cry somehow.

[firstdivisiongirl]

hello^^ id like to request a romantic match-up if its okay with you My pronouns are she/her and im an asexual. My MBTI is INTP and so please understand if im not able to identify myself that great. Yk the kid in the class who doesn't do any hw but passes all of the subject? Well yes thats me. Also im great at mathematics. I have kind of strict parents but more protective type so im not allowed to go to any person's house. I get told by my friends that when they first saw me i looked like a rly cold or egoistical person and all , as for my best friend (i asked her) to describe me in 1 word she said "comfort" so hope that makes sense. Im 5'2 tall... really bad eyesights like -6.25 and 5.75 (if i can remember correctly) . Im not really the outstanding type, but i do have some amount of confidence honestly. Also im a Christian and hope you get what i mean^^ Im able to like uhh copy people's personality and i currently have "the perfect girl" personality copied from the class president. I kinda sound like only complimenting myself soo here's some weaknesses or things like that I procrastinate so much and mostly doesn't get hw done until the deadline (im trying to stop even in the littlest). Horrible sleep schedule. And sometimes pushes ppl away out of frustration. I hate gathering any useless attention (like social anxiety). And mostly i do not feel much emotion until i like be burst of emotion. I really have a lot of great idea and is able to tell people if they're lying or not like kinda reading people but i dont really talk out loud about it, i only talk rarely about them out of fear they think im weird or smth because i was neglected and talked behind my back in 6th grade before. And a lazy fashion sense coming in!!!!!!!! i usually just wear baggy clothes or like wear smth the same mostly because im too tired to make another outfit and memorize it I like yanderes pretty much (crybaby, possessive, manipulating , clingy, obsessive type...) Deep inside im really clingy, childish and a sore loser , i don't really realize my surroundings so i tend to forget roads a lott I can be a motormouth if im comfortable by it and can be really quiet , some things depends on my mood tho Weirdly scared of person using the stairs behind me , bcz its really creepy. If a conversation annoyes or bothers me i really try and make excuses to get out of it.. Hope u can get smth out with my horrible explanation TT

and please remember to take care of urselff!!!!!! its my first ask so im a bit nervous TT its currently 10;37PM here, so have a great day and good day/night/morning!!!!!!^^ (me trying to come cheery and nice as much as possible)

cyaaa!!!!!:DD

Hey there. I try to take care of myself, but I am always a mess lol. Don't be nervous about asking. You did a good job. So onto the Tokyo Revengers matchup!

You Got...

Taiju Shiba!!!

He is a tough nut to crack, but I think he would love you.

Both of you are religious and would bond over that and go to church together.

He needs a a partner who is confident.

He'd love how you can be anything you want to be and copy others.

I feel like he needs someone who can read people well, since he is a lot. You would be able to understand what's going on in his mind. Good luck, I think it is scary in there.

Would scare off people who walk behind you

He's the type of guy who would make sure you never get lost

Wouldn't really care if you were in tight clothes or baggy clothes. He loves you for you. (If he cared about looks he would have kicked Inupi out for looking like discount Sabo lol)

Dates would be anything you want. But there must be good food!

Would like your clinginess. That means he gets to spend more time with you.

I hope you like it!

[cityoftheangelllls]

My Christmas Wish

Of course I will always love Christmas and always look forward to it, and I live for indulging myself with the nostalgia and gingerbread house making and spirit of giving and marathoning of classic Christmas movies, I feel that it's not as magical as it was when I was a child, and it's not just because of the trials and pains that come with getting older, but also because I realize that there are so many people out there who are less fortunate, and, for that reason, this time of year brings them a lot of pain.

There is not a day that goes by when I don't count my lucky stars and thank God for how fortunate I am. I live in a safe neighborhood and home with a loving family (even though they drive me nuts and we butt heads sometimes), I have a lot of friends, I have a good job, I enjoy indulging in my favorite hobbies and talents, and I find so much in the world that brings me joy and comfort and makes it worth it to keep on trucking when I'm not feeling my best. Oh, and I'm well on my way to getting my own place to live soon, or at least start looking for one.

And that makes it all the more painful when I think of people who don't have these things.

There are children and young adults living in dysfunctional or abusive homes, with people who don't love or care for them, feeling more neglected and worthless than ever each time this time of year comes around.

There are people living on the streets, completely alone, with no home, no family, no friends, no comfort, wondering when they're going to be able to eat next or if their death is coming soon.

There are people living in areas stricken by war and violence, fearing for their lives, unable to even celebrate due to their homes being destroyed and resources being cut off, wondering if this is going to be their last holiday season.

There are people struggling with disordered eating, hating themselves for eating even the smallest meal or the tiniest morsel of chocolate, especially as this time of year is focused on feasting and making yummy sweet treats.

There are people who are financially struggling or in dire poverty, living paycheck to paycheck, unable to do even the barest minimum for themselves or their families and friends, and it breaks their hearts that they are unable to give them something special this time of year.

There are groups of people who are not Christian or don't celebrate Christmas feeling ostracized and left out due to their different religions and traditions, and are likely to be even more targeted by hateful people during this time of year.

Finally, there are people who are just lonely, feeling alone at a time when no one should be alone.

These people should never be forgotten about during this time of year.

If I could make a single Christmas wish and have it come true in an instant, it would be that all this sadness and pain would stop. That everyone would feel safe, comfortable, and loved during the holidays, and that I wouldn't have to read about all the tragedy happening in the world, away from my small, sheltered, peaceful neighborhood.

Sadly, such tragedy has been the way of the world for ages, and it will continue so long as some humans out there are selfish and continue these painful cycles.

Needless to say, my heart is with everyone out there who feels alone and unloved during the holidays. You are NOT, I repeat, NOT obliged to feel happy and jovial during the holidays, nor are you obliged to celebrate them if you desire not to. Just know that you are NOT alone and there is at least one person out there who cares for you and wishes you all the best.

Whether you're religious or not, the holiday season is all about giving and being around your loved and cherished ones. And even though I consider myself lucky, I know there are plenty of people out there who are far less fortunate, and I want to give by extending my heart and my compassion to them.

[super-hero-confessions]

Love when Loki stans act like religious nuts giving a pass to Catholic pedo priests because "well not all of them are pedos!!1!1".

Great. Nobody said they were, just like nobody said that all Loki stans are nut jobs giving him a free pass because he's a pretty white boi. Claiming that's what's being said is not helpful to the conversation that people are actually trying to open.

That being that Loki can and does often get a free pass for the sole reason of being pretty and white from many many of his stans.

Not you? Then why are you acting like you've been personally called out and making strawmans to justify liking him? Nobody cares about why you personally feel the need to defend Loki on behalf of the bad actors in fandom who are being called out.

Just acknowledge the fact and move on morons. It's not hard to admit or understand that Loki has both tragic history and does awful things with a slap on the wrist from white supremacists and people who want to fuck him.

Two things can be true at the same time and not be mutually exclusive. Loki is a bigot that called the human race fucking ants and saw them as beneath him, planning to step on them. He's also a genocidal maniac with daddy issues.

He's also a grown ass man responsible for his own fucking choices. Nobody, and I mean nobody tried to get him to destroy Jotunheim. Everybody, and I mean everybody, tried to stop him.

He's also suffered a great deal due to personal hang ups and not quite fitting in from not being made aware of his adoptee status. I get it, that's relatable?? Still not an excuse to be genocidal space Hitler for blue people and a bit of an overreaction from a literal prince for space gods but oh well.

Loki can be both a villain and a victim and canonically is both. That's the point. He also has plenty of stans and antis that will only acknowledge one or the other. That's the point. And he definitely has stans that only care about how hot or white he is and will say anything to justify his unjustifiable actions. That's the point.

Not you? Then why the fuck are you offended when you know those people exist? Your denial of them only proves the point and lumps you in with those bad stans.

Because you're going out of your way to defend those bad stans, not Loki, instead of calling them out to make the Loki fandom better and less toxic.

The Loki fandom has been successfully converted into a perfect hiding place for real racists, bigots, white supremacists, fascists, victim blamers and the like who wanna skirt on by being genuinely hostile towards valid criticism and nuance, just like the Catholic church.

Congratulations. You played yourselves. Enjoy the literal Nazis that may be standing right next to you.

[steamedtangerine]

God Talk VS. God Crock

Since the assassination attempt, there will be nuts out there trying to spin it as being about "divine intervention".

I just came back from eating with a family member and overheard some carry-out folks talking about it being "the hand of God" that saved Trump, and one person added "well, he has been going to churches, so he must be praying more".

Ugh. First off, where I live-yes, Trump did recently go to an "all-black church" in Detroit, but not surprisingly, the pictures coming back from that event showed a mostly white crowd. This is a rich man (not a poor Lazaraus) with no sense of humility who lies and falsely accuses folks with no sense of empathy-the kind who knocks over demonstrators just to do a vain photo-op holding a Bible upside down.

Second, as someone who has read the Bible cover to cover twice (same with the Book of the Subgenius and Bradbury's Martian Chronicles-but that's a different matter) and lived with theologian students, I feel like I should chime in (cue DaFoe in Spiderman "Scientist" meme) on this with what little I can offer. Sure, it will involve religious talk with Biblical citation, but even the secular minded will benefit by arming themselves with at least some knowledge to refute the self-righteous hypocrites who twist things horribly wrong. To fail to embrace even a few grains of truth is to put oneself in line with the same Biblical illiteracy the Evangelicals chose to adopt.

Some of the hottest, worst takes ever to surface after a current event seem to come from Evangelicals. Pat Robertson was infamous for spewing the most misguided statements about Hurricane Katrina, disasters in Haiti, AIDS, disasters in Dover, PA, or mishaps befalling Ariel Sharon....to name a few. He did this with the grandiose presumption that he was more privy to understanding God's unfathomable ways more than anyone else.....so much for embracing the necessary virtue of humility.

....however, the Bible asserts many times over that we all each take our chances just as anyone else has to in this life. I mean, count your blessings and know where they come from, but never presume you are immune to affliction or persecution just because you attend more functions, buy more religious goods, or pray the most words. You got 40+ chapters in the book of Job, and they are not all dedicated to this constricted populist narrative of "Job suffered, was tested, and persevered", otherwise it would be one heck of a short book. No, what South Park and tons of Sunday School sessions fail to mention is that the Book of Job is this Rabbinical back-and-forth about why "bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people." The answer in the end is God communicating to Job "my ways are my ways, and they are not for anybody to understand".

It doesn't stop there, in the Gospels, Jesus says "it rains on the just and unjust alike". He also mentions that buildings will fall on the faithful (quit the drooling, Dr. Lecter), the just will be persecuted by the unjust, and that children will be born blind not due to any evil their parents did or that they were somehow born "maligned in spirit".

St. Paul later insists (in the 6th chapter of his first letter to Timothy) to avoid anyone saying "gain is close to Godliness" (not to mention warnings of those who use their faith as a cloak for covetousness)-this could not be a bigger condemnation to the Mega-church self-glory-seekers and those pushing a "health & wealth" prosperity-based ideology. Compound all this with all the condemnations of the rich and those lacking in humility or all the passages insisting God shows no partiality, and one walks away with a far, far different picture than the superficial world that Evangelicals dwell in.

Third, from a historical sense, who have been the bad guys who cheated death and the righteous who weren't so lucky? Hitler avoided many assassination attempts and presumed "God was on his side". Meanwhile, all the martyrs throughout history (ones who had legit causes) have suffered-not only does the Bible not sugar-coat things by informing the studious that this can sometimes be an unavoidable fact, but some of the more old school faiths-especially the Catholics-want everyone to be reminded clearly in this matter. So, what is to be said of the MLKs, the Medgar Evers, the Jean Donavans, or the Archbishop Romeros? Were they-for all their obvious righteousness, not as blessed as Golden Boy Donald J. Trump?

I hope noone here encounters the near-idolatrous "Trump was favored by God" crowd, but at the very least, if one actually reads the very book they claim to extol (by starting at the center-ie. the Gospel), one quickly finds out how little the Evangelicals know about what they're talking about.

Thus, ends the sermon.

[colleen-gilly]

Cameron Park

this was for a creative writing class I took, but enjoy :)

My shoes hit the ground as sweat drips down my face. I narrowly maneuver around the large rocks and hanging tree limbs that could so easily knock me off my feet. My chest pounds, legs ache, lungs gasp, but I can only think one thing: “I’m home”. 

I grew up running the trails of Cameron Park, the second largest inner-city park in the United States, located in the heart of Texas – Waco. Twenty years ago, the towering pine trees provided cover for local gangs to sell drugs and various other contraband. Now, the park acts as the heart of the city, drawing trail runners, mountain bikers, and swimmers from across the state – proving that given enough time and effort, change is possible.

Unfortunately, the city of Waco has been tainted by the gruesome memory of the 1993 siege — a 51-day standoff between a religious cult and law enforcement that resulted in an 82 death massacre. For years, Waco was known as a home to convicts, culprits, and criminals, all of whom ran the town, including my beloved Cameron Park.

As a child, I was naïve to the dangers that the park presented. I would happily ride in my stroller crunching on a bag of Honey Nut Cheerios as my mother pushed from behind. Occasionally, I would see men in dark clothes deep in the woods, seemingly exchanging what I innocently mistook as cookies. Despite the southern charm that my mom worked so hard to instill in me, we would avoid all contact with the men in the mysterious hoods. Instead, we would stick to the river trail, occasionally ducking behind the trees for a quick potty break or down to the river to cool off. 

Eventually, I graduated from the stroller and began to run alongside my mom. In the early mornings we found peace in the isolation of the woods. Running gave us more freedom than the stroller had ever allowed. Our explorations took us deep into Cameron Park and closer to the possibility of encountering the hooded men. Having my mom as my companion, the dangers that plagued the park never concerned me — I was safe, or at least I felt safe.

It wasn’t until I was much older when I overheard conversations my mom had with friends or family that I realized we had been in the face of danger all those years. Many days we would arrive at the park and be greeted by a swarm of police cars that would politely ask us to come again another day — a detail I casually overlooked as a six-year-old. My mom would simply tell the nice police officer, “No worries. We’ll be back tomorrow.” And she would drive us home.

Whether we were applauded for our bravery or condescended for our stupidity, my mom was willing to risk the dangers of venturing into the park to observe its unexplored beauty with me by her side. We would run the unworn trails for hours, engulfed in the forest around us. If we weren’t looking out for hooded men in the distance, we were acutely aware of the vultures soaring overhead or the possibility of getting bitten by copperhead snakes that roamed the grounds. Running in Cameron Park required our complete attention, allowing the rest of the world to momentarily fall away. It became the foundation of my relationship with my mother, establishing her as my central protector.

When I was eight, my father got a new job that required us to move away from the place my mom and I laid these roots. For years, our only visits to Cameron Park were brief stops on our way through Waco. With each stop we made, we noticed more and more people discovering the land we once loved. Trails once avoided out of precaution were cleared for mountain bikers and hikers alike. State troopers would remain on watch, patrolling the grounds on horseback. The park was no longer a hidden gem.

When you love something and let it go, it will find its way back to you if it’s meant to be. Like any great love, we found our way back to Cameron Park. Nine years after leaving the place my mom and I laid the roots of our relationship, we found ourselves moving back to Waco. But it was different this time. Cameron Park was not the same place we had left it. Instead, it was filled with people. The dangers that once troubled the park were no longer present, and it was as if the town had rewritten its story. Previously known for a deadly siege and high crime rates, Waco had become a town of prosperity and restoration.

Much like the changes that overcame the town, my relationship with my mom completely transformed. When I was young, I viewed my mom as my protector. In my eyes, she had the power to stop any bad thing from happening to me. During the years away from Waco, we had gradually grown apart, no longer running together like we once had. I was no longer naïve to the harsh realities of life and had learned to become my own protector. When we found ourselves back in Cameron Park all those years later, we became united again, but in a much different way. We no longer ran together in the mornings but would take a daily afternoon hike through the park in which we would discuss the perils of our day. Previously my bodyguard, my mom had grown to be my closest confidant and best friend. 

Despite the drastic societal changes that took place in Waco and the change in my relationship with my mother, Cameron Park has remained a natural beauty that I can always rely on. The steep white cliffs that hold a beautiful array of botanical life on top, tower over the blue water that rushes through the Brazos River below, creating a divide between the past that the town is trying to flush away and the new life it is growing above.