#that was a lot to unpack so let's just throw away the whole suitcase

[the-slut-verses]

[disneyprincemuke]

the best of (instagram) * fem!driver

vegas edition

(series masterlist) | (📂 smau specials)

rockysroads

liked by taylorswift, mickschumacher and 209,881 others

rockysroads ugh worth it for the free pizza

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maxverstappen1 there’s a lot to unpack but i suggest we just throw the whole suitcase away

alex_albon what the fuck???

georgerussell63 huh?????????

charles_leclerc what is this behaviour y/n

alexandrasaintmleux 😀😀😀

carlossainz55 ???

liamlawson30 i’m afraid to ask so let me just congratulate you out of courtesy real quick

f1 oh congrats???

andrettiracing wait i thought i was in charge of marketing

rockysroads hahahahahaha u thought 💗

williamsracing to one of our drivers mayhaps?? 🙇🏽‍♀️🙇🏽‍♀️

logansargeant no.

sebastianvettel lol

lilyzneimer real

oscarpiastri LMFAO

mickschumacher how was the free pizza??

rockysroads delicious… i love free food

mickschumacher

liked by sebastianvettel, susie_wolff and 103,482 others

mickschumacher something something about free pizza???

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carmenmmundt hahaha what?

georgerussell63 there are dots to connect, but where are the other dots

alex_albon PICK UP THE PHONE MATE

mercedesamgf1 wait a damn minute

f1 wait a second

andrettiracing hahaha are u thinking what i’m thinking

sebastianvettel lol

lilyzneimer lol

oscarpiastri LMFAOOOOOOOO

rockysroads how was the free pizza??

mickschumacher delicious… i love free food

taglist: @wcnorris @treehouse-mouse @laura-naruto-fan1998 @mindless-rock @leilanixx @ironmaiden1313 @angsthology @cherry-piee @christianpulisic10 @elliegrey2803 @cashtons-wife @sadg3 @a10vely-yutazen @mellowarcadefun @glitterf1 @megatrilss1885 @peqch-pie @gentlyweeps-world @woozarts @darleneslane @inejismywife @meadhgbcavanagh @2bormaybenot @love4lando

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

There is a lot to unpack here, so let's just throw away the whole suitcase.

[seal-writes-stuff]

do you think you could do something for dani from shiva baby please? :) whatever you feel like, i’m not picky!

Dating Headcanons - Danielle (“Shiva Baby”)

Word count: 1.4k

Warnings: one mention of sex work (I mean, you’ve seen the movie), some angst, nothing else I can think of!

Summary: All in the title!

A/N: ANOOOOOON I can, I must and I will! To be honest, I’ve wanted to write this for a while, so I’m glad to finally put it out. If you have any more specific concepts in mind, I’d love to hear all about it. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

You meet Danielle in college. From what you know, she’s so wonderful it’s hard to believe she’s even real: a chill, smart and beautiful girl who seems to have her life together, someone who’s been nothing but nice to you. Danielle’s the kind of person you crush on in content silence – always imagining your life together, never getting brave enough to ask her out. After all, why should you? You aren’t even sure she even remembers your name.

But turns out she does. And she uses this knowledge to offer you fifty bucks so you’d pretend to be her date for a shiva observance she’s being forced to attend.

To say you are surprised would be an understatement of the century. Which, of course, doesn’t deter you from agreeing immediately. There’s this endless hopelessness in Danielle’s eyes when she asks you to do this, so you obviously have no choice but to help a girl out. Besides, at the very least it won’t be boring.

The whole experience is prolonged, uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing - and it also brings the two of you closer than ever. You end up rejecting the money; the time you’ve spent in her company was worth every awkward, chaotic situation you’ve had to endure. In a weird way, you had a good time and you tell Danielle as much.

She ends up making out with you right before dropping you off at your place.

Danielle is not too worried about putting a label on your relationship. Are you dating? Are you friends with benefits? Are you simply having a good time? She doesn't know and she doesn't want to know either. Better to enjoy the moment than ruin it forever.

Still, the mere thought of being your girlfriend sounds comforting. It sounds inviting, it sounds... Sweet. But even then, there's simply too much to unpack for her, so Danielle just throws away the whole suitcase.

She’s entirely non-judgmental about your life. Dani knows how hard it is to make it anywhere at all, so she assumes that whatever you do is for the best. It's hard to find someone this supportive, even though it’s something Danielle herself doesn't realize.

On the other hand, Danielle struggles with opening up to you because deep down she expects you to scrutinize every little bit of her life. Her job, her major, her love life – everything she’s ever been criticized for, everything that makes her, well, her. It’s annoying when it comes from anyone else, it would be absolutely crushing if it came from you. So when you don't judge her? When you tell her that it's okay, that she's okay and that you accept her no matter what? It’s freeing, it’s wonderful and it’s even a bit scary. It’s something Danielle thinks about it a lot.

She puts her sugar baby side hustle on hold when you start seeing each other – it simply doesn't feel right with you around. But even then, Danielle likes to rile you up from time to time, borderline flirting with people to make you jealous. She knows it's a toxic thing to do, but she just can't help it. In a weird way, it lets her know that you love her. It makes her feel desirable.

Danielle remembers every compliment you've ever given her. She doesn't think much of herself, which is awful and absolutely insane to you, so you make it a point to give her as much praise as possible. She's the funniest person you've ever met. She's absolutely stunning. You’re so lucky to have her in your life. Seeing Danielle blush and look away with a little smile just might be the best part of your day.

Unfortunately, she's the worst when it comes to talking about feelings. Danielle is a kind of person to say "cool" to a love confession and then think about it for five years straight. It doesn't mean she loves you any less, of course, she just has a different way of showing it. Her personal favorite form of affection is touch - cuddling, kissing, scratching your back when you’re lying in bed together... It’s intimate and cozy. It really gives Dani a sense of stability she craves yet pulls away from.

With that being said, she’s not big fan of PDA. When it happens, Danielle has this ever-persistent feeling that everyone is starting - and in her mind, nothing is worse that. Still, even just holding your hand in hers, fingers intervened... It makes her feel grounded, safe. As chaotic as her life may be, this is one of the little reminders that you’re by her side, that she has you. That maybe life’s not so bad after all.

She loves when you play with her hair, especially after a hard day. If you stop in the middle of it, Danielle always guides your hand back to her head without another word, placing a small kiss on your wrist along the way. Honestly, how can you say no to that?

Speaking of hard days, you're the only person she feels safe enough to cry in front of. The first time it happens on a complete accident: Danielle is a tough person and can withstand a lot of shit, but something just… Breaks in her that day. She just can't hold it all together any longer, all made more embarrassing because it happened in front of you. And yet, all you do is pull her in your arms: covering her face in sweet kisses, whispering how everything is going to be alright. Judging her for that doesn’t even cross your mind.

After she calms down, Danielle composes herself and goes on pretending that it never happened – and so do you, to save her the embarrassment she shouldn’t even feel in the first place. Still, there's an undeniable shift in your relationship after that. The hugs are tighter. The hard conversations are easier. Danielle trusts you more - and she knows you'd never take it for granted, that you’d never never take her for granted.

Study sessions together are a must, even though you inevitably end up doing more talking than studying. Danielle doesn't mind, though. For her, any time with you is a time well-spent.

Danielle’s shy about showing you her standup material at first since she hasn’t done it in a while, so she believes she’s gotten rusty. You’re her biggest fan and number one supporter, of course – after all, your girlfriend is hilarious and will achieve everything she wants to. Your encouragement is enough to make Danielle believe in herself too, if only a little bit.

She lends you her books all the time, secretly hoping you'll be impressed. Of course, you never refuse and you never stop asking for them. There's just something so nice about reading your lover's favourite book with all the little notes she made, as if it's a secret code only the two of you can understand. Danielle trusts you with these small pieces of her inner world - you'll never take that for granted.

One time you gift her a friendship bracelet in colors of the bisexual flag, with her name written on the beads. She thinks it's corny as hell. Never takes it off too.

Danielle says "I love you" exactly once and then never again. She jokes that she'll let you know if something changes, but in reality it's just hard for her to talk about it, be this vulnerable with someone. You don't need her to say it, though - you know that she loves you.

All in all, Danielle loves you - she loves you with all of her heart, eternally grateful that you accept her with all of the good, bad, awkward and beautiful. In spite of her hard exterior, she's the best partner you could've wished for and you’d endure a million more awkward family gatherings if it meant always being by her side.

[astravis]

In the end, was there any way "Phantom Planet" could've been salvaged?

Excuse my incoherency as I've been sick and sleep deprived sfdghcvh

But I think if this infamous trash of an episode were to be salvageable, it would require alterations that would make it unrecognizable as "Phantom Planet." An ectoranium asteroid stopped via Danny rallying world governments and ghosts to turn the earth intangible is, plainly: ???????

What a bizarre way to get to the end goal of "Phantom is a hero, he gets the girl, everyone accepts him, and Vlad is out of the picture." This leaves a lot of loose threads patched together in the most slapdash way possible or entirely shoved under the rug. There's a lot thrown out of left field, including contradictions in characterization. When an episode goes "there's a lot to unpack here, but let's just throw away the whole suitcase" I don't think it could have been pieced back together in any recognizable form. I don't see how it would have been possible to wrap up everything in one forty minute episode either, so on this other point it was doomed from the start to fail. Valerie's discovery of Vlad alone and in tandem her changing relationship with Danny deserved its own finishing arc for one thing.

[alivedean]

i seriously don’t understand what they meant by culturally appropriating 😭😭 and so sorry u had to deal with that but i’m also thrilled that u keep making stuff that u enjoy & ur sets always look amazing & are soooooo funny 😍😍😍

honestly i have no idea??? 😭 like there is a lot to unpack here but let's just throw away the whole suitcase jgkdkd

and thank you so much for this pris, it truly means a lot!

[oscartwofoxtrot]

[kicks down the door like the kool-aid man]: hi oscar talk to me about your favorite scene that you’ve written?

Sorry this took so long to answer, I was, apparently, writing an entire thesis. You Have Been Warned.

Oh my god uhhh. My favourite scene…okay, if I had to go with one, it’d probably be the scene from The Valiant Never Taste of Death I unofficially refer to as ‘Everybody’s dying bitch, let’s get you some peanut butter’. This comes about a quarter of the way through the second (proper) chapter, Requiem (NB: if we’re going by AO3 numbers then it’s Chapter 3, since there’s a Prologue chapter as well, but I don’t tend to count that numerically), and it’s the bit where Nate gently bullies Brad into sitting down and having a snack. And then uno reverse-cards him into talking about his childhood trauma. [Slaps scene] This bad boy can fit so many emotions in it!

For those unfamiliar with Halo 4 (which in all likelihood is most if not all of you), you should know that for the most part, I tend to hew fairly closely to the story and plot structure of the game when writing Valiant. But linear first person shooters don’t offer the characters a lot of opportunities to sit down and talk about their feelings, so this scene is an oscartwofoxtrot original! Sure, the action scenes can be fun, but there’s nothing I love more than getting to write Brad and Nate in their quiet moments, and I crowbarred this one in here to really dig into that Deep Halo Lore and hopefully use it to get at some of the complexities of their dynamic in this AU.

Speaking of complexities, you ask me anything at all about Valiant and I am not so much going to unpack the suitcase as start pulling hat stands and potted plants out of it Mary Poppins-style, so…this shit’s gonna need an itemised list.

1. Nate: [Basically refuses to acknowledge his own mortality, but you better believe he makes sure Brad remembers to eat and take a break every once in a while]. Also, Brad displaying just how whipped he really is. They may not have the same relationship dynamic as canon, but Brad pretty much lets Nate tell him what to do most of the time. tbh I think he likes it.

2. We get another hint at the circumstances surrounding Nate’s capture by the Gravemind. I alluded to this event in the prologue but have thus far avoided going into too much detail about it, so you’d better believe it’s a Surprise Tool That Will Help Us Later. One of the biggest challenges of writing an AU based on the fourth game in a series is finding the Goldilocks Zone of exposition – too much and you lose the current plot thread as well as the attention of literally everyone reading; not enough and the whole thing is virtually incomprehensible to normal people who don’t spend all their time on Halopedia. Trying to get that balance right is, shall we say, an ongoing struggle.

That said, I have been having way too much fun throwing out passing references to stuff like this – and this particular occurrence is a Big Deal in the world of Brad and Nate, because I think it may be the only time they’d been apart for more than like 24 hours since they started working together. (The backstory of their first meeting is a whole other essay in its own right, so I’ll just slap a sticker on this that says ‘Ask Me About My Canon Timeline In The Very Unlikely Event That You Are Interested’). Nate had become such a permanent fixture in Brad’s life, I doubt Brad understood what it would even feel like to miss him until he was gone.

And now that Nate’s life is in danger again, Brad has a very clear understanding of the stakes involved. Almost losing him the first time…it wasn’t The Moment of Realisation (more on that later), but it certainly did crystallise some deeper level of awareness on just how important Nate is to him. Of course, last time, the problem was one of distance – Brad was light-years away and couldn’t immediately get back to Nate, but there was a fortress to storm and a dragon to slay so he could save him. This time, Brad is right there, and he can see Nate suffering, and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it.

3. Couldn’t resist throwing in a version of the Peanut Butter MRE Temper Tantrum lol. I am at heart a giant sap and I do love writing them joking around and just being incredibly fond of each other. Because there’s no officer-enlisted divide here, it gives them more room to develop the casual familiarity and vaguely flirtatious banter we see hints of in the show. The spectre of Nate’s Rampancy does cast a pall over the whole thing, but it wouldn’t be Generation Kill without some serious mood whiplash. Speaking of which…

4. Hello and welcome to my impromptu TED Talk on the Insane Fucking Lore behind the SPARTAN-II program! (On all levels except physical I am this Brian David Gilbert Unraveled video). That’s right: the Spartan-IIs were kidnapped from their families at the age of six and, to avoid suspicion, replaced by clones implanted with their memories who would die within months due to congenital health issues caused by the cloning process. And as Nate points out, the UNSC didn’t even have the justification of the Covenant War, because that hadn’t started yet! They did this shit because various colony worlds wanted independence from the United Earth Government – but that would negatively affect the economy, so apparently the only two options available were ‘bloody civil war costing billions of human lives’ or ‘covert military operations to quash nascent insurrectionist uprisings, carried out by fucking child soldiers who we put through brutal training and experimental bio-augmentations that killed or permanently maimed like half of them’.

So, uh. That’s fucked! And what’s wild is that even though this has been a feature of the expanded universe since the beginning, it’s something that’s barely ever touched on in the games. Nate only knows about it because he went snooping for Brad’s unredacted file not long after they met for the first time (based on Cortana doing the same in the Halo prequel novel The Fall of Reach). For what it’s worth, Brad’s stated mindset is pretty typical of how the Spartans themselves feel about the whole thing: it’s been normalised for them because it’s the only life they know.

Nate, meanwhile, is understandably horrified, and it’s clear they both recognise the parallels between their experiences – the UNSC took away Nate’s autonomy too, by the very act of his creation. In between the Gravemind and the Rampancy, it’s something he’s been increasingly struggling with: that he was brought into being as a fully-formed person to serve a specific purpose, with the knowledge that he’d only have an operational lifespan of seven years before his systems started to decay irreparably. I can’t put it better than the Gravemind did (courtesy of the Halo short story Human Weakness by Karen Traviss): “Your creators made you separate. They placed a barrier between you and the beings that you would be encouraged to protect, a wall you could never breach. They even gave you a human to centre your existence upon, a human to care about, yet never considered how you might feel at never being able to simply touch him. Or how he might feel about outliving you.”

Damn are you guys seeing this shit? This is fucking crazy! Anyway I’m Rod Serling

5. Rule number one of Valiant: Brad does not know that he’s in love with Nate. Ya boi is pining without even realising that he’s pining. This isn’t a reflection of how I most commonly interpret canon – I look at show!Brad and I’m like ‘yeah, there’s a guy who’s 100% self-aware that he’s simping for his platoon commander’ – but in this AU, the Spartans’ lack of normal human socialisation has left him without any practical life experience of things like romance, so he’s just not quite able to put a name to those feelings. Yet, anyway.

As for Nate? I’ve been writing under the assumption that he is aware of his own feelings, but isn’t totally sure of Brad’s. I reckon he probably has a good enough read on Brad to at least suspect that Brad might reciprocate if made aware of the situation, but without any way to be certain, Nate’s unlikely to bring it up. Even I’m not fully decided on when Nate’s Moment of Realisation was. I do have a few ideas, but it’s not a detail that’s ever specifically relevant to the fic, so feel free to speculate.

In conclusion: …idk man, it’s been a year since I wrote this and I don’t completely hate it yet so. that’s probably a good sign, right? sorry for rambling it will happen again

[chubbygirlmaddy14]

The Dollmaker: The First Day

Dale Kobble x reader

A/N:Thankfully longer, the tension is rising!

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/374688245?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_writing&wp_page=create&wp_uname=chubby_girl_maddy16

Chapter 3: The First Day (1,150 words)

Y/N Pov:

My alarm starts blaring in my ears, making me groan as I cover my head with the blanket. Jesus Christ, I think to myself trying to wake up more. I know I should've left Colorado a few days sooner. Given myself a few days to get settled before starting work but I didn't.

I open my eyes watching the light shine through the window as the sun rises over the trees. Beautiful, but as much as it was, I wish I had just a few more hours. Can't always get what you want though, so yet I throw myself up, rubbing my eyes and yawning a bit. I grab a few towels before heading to the bathroom and starting up a shower

                        I feel gross

Of course I did, once Nicolas and Linda left, I opened a bottle of wine and went to bed. How else was I supposed to celebrate my first day back home.

A new start, at least I had hoped.

My thoughts soon washed away as I stepped under the warm water, sighing and feeling content. What was that thing outside yesterday? Would it come back? Is it gonna hurt me?

                      "Jesus get a grip y/n!" I say

                    before grabbing the shampoo.

Once done with my shower, I step out and dry off, glad to get yesterday off of me. I walk over to one of my suitcases, too lazy last night to have unpacked it, and grabbed my trench coat, button up, and jeans. Putting my clothes before grabbing a few other things I needed, I made my way downstairs. Still tired I check my fridge expecting to be food, forgetting I haven't gone shopping yet

"Shit" I mumble softly, making a mental note to head to the store after work. I head into the living room and grab my bag, making sure everything was in it.   Keys, badge, wallet.

The drive to work was short but felt so long. I had no clue why I leaned towards FBI agent. Well, somewhat of a lie is how I see it. Deep down it was because of my parents and sister. Ruled a murder suicide, I thought other wise, no, I knew otherwise. Heading into the office I smile at a familiar face.

"Mr. Carter!"

Though we haven't seen each other in a while, we still knew a lot about each other. Besides seeing one another at meetings over various cases ever since I started, I've known him long before. A good friend to my father, and let alone a great man. "Miss. y/l/n! how's being back treating you?" I sigh softly shaking his hand, shaking off the weird feelings I got from last night

"Good good! still the same old home I knew and love, just needs some more taking care of" I laugh a bit with him "You and your wife should stop by sometimes, I can make dinner for us and maybe your daughter would like to join"

I say giving him a warm smile. He puts his hand on           my shoulder softly, "We would love that, just call me whenever you're ready" making me smile.

I loved spending time with him and his family, and how I've missed get together with my family. Even though they're not here, it's fun to keep going. As we keep talking I notice a girl turn the corner, Carter turning back hearing her footsteps. Approaching her, he takes her arm and brings her over

"Y/n this is agent Lee Harker, Agent Harker this is y/n y/l/n, our newest agent on the longlegs case." I get a bit confused, my eyebrows coming together.

             No one told me I was on a case

                              so soon being here.   

"It's nice to meet you" I say smiling at her reaching my hand out to shake hers, making her return the smile, "it's a pleasure to meet you too, we can always use some new help around."

She was interesting, not in a bad way of course, but you knew she can get things done. Curiosity came back to you, "I- I'm sorry but who is longlegs exactly?" The two agents look at each other before back at me, Carter smiling softly before taking me to another room. "We find these letters at the murder sights that have been happening across town, signed longlegs." He says pulling up different files of the cases.

"All families, the father of each goes crazy one day. Kills every member before himself." I felt sick, this was my reality. "We think it's something deeper than that, I mean come on all of this, same situation, same town. It's not what we are to expect after coming across these cases."

I grab some of the files folding through, picking up the cases with the least trails to them, knowing they shouldn't be left in the dark while the ones getting a closer lead too them all was their main focus.

You wouldn't wanna miss anything, Would you?

Talking a bit more, I soon head into my office with the files, on my way to spend the next few hours trying to put the pieces together. No matter how close I was throughout these hours though, I felt like I was pushing further back. Pushing the files away I cover my face with my hands trying to calm down.

               My head hurt. It all hurt.

Agent Carter opens my office door before leaning against it crossing his arms. "Go home," he says in a fatherly tone, telling how overwhelmed I was. "No, I've got it I promise just give me a few more hou-"

  "y/l/n." He states firmly raising an eyebrow

  Go home, make some dinner,

                                  get some rest"

My stomach growled at the thought of dinner, making Carter chuckle and making me throw a rolled up ball of paper at him. "Fine, but I'm taking these" I lift up the folders before putting them in my bag and getting up. I still need to go to the store, even though I want to go home, it wasn't something I could put off. I shake agent Carters hand before smiling and walking off to my car.

Slumping back in the sat I sigh before putting my car in reverse, pulling out, and driving away.

Thank god the grocery store was only a block

away from home

I thought to myself as I park in a spot close to the door, only noticing a few other cars. I smile knowing it won't be so crowded before getting out of my car and grabbing a cart.

A few isles down I went, putting things I needed more than I didn't need in my cart. I turn the corner and accidentally bump into a taller man, making me gasp and notice I knocked something out of his hand.

"I am so sorry oh my god!" I bend down quickly and pick up his item before turning to face him.

                                        Woah.

[deramin2]

There is no way that Matt dropped that in to be ignored, and there's no way that Taliesin "oops my backstory has been a center piece for the last two campaigns" Jaffe is going to just look at that and leave it alone.

What I think is happening is the "gotta stop the appocolypse" OP is discussing, but also I think Ashton is just trying to process that. They compartmentalize their trauma as much as Laudna and I think they're just going,

ID: text chat screenshot reading "there's a lot to unpack here but let's just throw away the whole suitcase." End ID

He's wondered about Hishari for years and he just got this big infodump he can barely process. And then he's told he could just go there and where all those answers are. And of course as viewers we're like YES! GO THERE AND GIVE US THE SWEET JUICY ANSWERS!! And I'm sure Taliesin is also thinking that.

But also that's the site of Ashton's biggest trauma in a traumatic life. Of course they want to find an excuse to avoid it. Avoidance is what they do.

Ashton: "I'm a very big believer in you just keep, if you keep moving then, you know, momentum means that, you know, you don't really have to focus on anything unpleasant for too long." (CR C3 E62 0:35:33)

It makes sense that they might not be ready to confront that. They've wanted it so much for so long that actually having it in front of them as tangible instead of theoretical is really scary. It arrests the momentum. It means they actually have to decide how they feel and grapple with what happened as historical fact instead of nebulous feelings of rage towards people they basically don't remember.

But Team Unprocessed Trauma were there for him learning that, and I don't think they'll let him avoid it forever, either. It's a thread hanging there now, but eventually he and the rest of the party are going to pull on it. It's also possible that finding out what happened there will be key to unraveling Ludinus' plot. That would be very Matt Mercer.

So I'm also chomping at the bit, but I'm trying to have patience. There's going to be a payoff here eventually and it's going to be good. Taliesin deliberately leaves holes like this for Matt to fill and he will absolutely circle back. If C3 is around the same length as C1 and C2, we're less than half way through the series. There is going to be more time.

okay LISTEN. I fucking love the energy of the "the apocalypse is ACTIVELY happening right now, and so every day where we don't get things done is an active problem."

but DAMN do I wish we had a few days to fuck off to Tumilo to dig into Ashton's past. They fucking deserve to have a few days going after their own shit.

Remember, Ashton literally only decided to stick with Bells Hells because they heard Orym say the word "Ashari" and impulse-decided to help him on his own mission for the sake of maybe finding out a bit more about their past. They've spent a lot of time going along with these people, their new family, helping them all follow the trails of their own pasts. They deserve a chance to go after their own.

But the world is ending. The gods could all die tomorrow. How could Bells Hells possibly justify taking the time to follow any trail but the one Ludinus laid out for them? And yet, for Ashton, who has given so much of himself to all of them, how could they not?

[hellspawndoodles]

I’m mad. I have been mad for...I wanna say like eleven, maybe 12 years? Doesn’t matter.

Anyway, the thing I’m mad about is the entire ‘Advice for Tween and Teen Girls’ genre because of the stupid bullshit ‘clique bad’ moral that they so often peddle. It is garbage and I hate it and it feels like the writers of this nonsense either never were teenagers or were like homeschooled or something. Rant proper under the cut because I doubt anyone wants to read my tired ass yelling about something immaterial.

OKAY still here? Good.

There’s a lot to unpack with ‘clique bad’ morals and frankly I kind of want to throw away the whole suitcase but I want to scream into the void rn soooooo

1. Words Mean Things and y’all don’t fucking know how people work apparently

So the definition of a clique, according to good ol’ Oxford Languages, is as follows:

“A small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them.”

So, a friend group. Literally every fucking high school friend group ever is like this. The popular kids, obviously. But also like, any group that met through an extracurricular, or people that’ve been friends for ages, or the weird kids that sit in the library before and after class and talk about Pokemon and anime and shit, aka the kind of friend group I was in. Literally everyone who went to school and had friends was in a clique. I was in a clique and you were in a clique and I guaran-fucking-tee you that folks like Trevor Romain or whoever writes for American Girl were in a clique because I’m not going to accuse anyone of not having any friends.

And like, not jumping at the opportunity to add someone to the group isn’t inherently a bad thing. It’s kind of a dick move to exclude someone just because ‘fuck this guy in particular’ but if you don’t click with someone you don’t click with them, simple as. You’re not obligated to try and make it work bc inclusivity or whatever. There were loads of people I didn’t want joining the group I was in, mostly the sporty types because, let’s be honest, we had damn near nothing in common, so wtf was I supposed to talk to them about? Yes, High School Me was an elitist fuck who didn’t like anyone who wasn’t my idea of an intellectual, but even if I hadn’t been, it wouldn’t have mattered, because I’d still have nothing to bond with these girls over.

Of course, that’s not what’s usually meant by ‘clique’, because every goddamn time, the image we get is of the popular kids, but if that’s what they mean, there’s still an issue there, that being that

2. Popular ≠ Bad Person

There’s this image of the kids who are popular in middle/high school as like, catty jackasses who aren’t really your friends and will treat you like garbage, which is uuuuuuuuuuhhhh

usually kind of divorced from reality.

Throughout my middle/high school experience, I’ve only encountered one IRL Regina George. I know some people have, my mom was familiar with those types, but here’s the thing about these kinds of people-usually, no one actually likes them. Maybe some people envy them bc money or looks or whatever, maybe they have a few suck-ups, but half the time people just think they’re assholes. The actual popular kids I knew? Were popular because they had a lot of genuine friends and legitimately good qualities. One of the popular girls I knew was popular because she was really friendly and smart and a good artist. And I know she was popular because she was on the student council every goddamn year and we all know that’s just a popularity contest. Most of the others just made a bunch of friends through sports or were generally really outgoing and nice. And maybe my high school was an outlier. Maybe it’s actually like Mean Girls at some schools, but from what I’ve heard from the people I know, those instances are rare.

I feel like some people just look at someone who has something they want and just decide that not only are the people who have that thing intrinsically bad, but the thing in question isn’t even that great anyway. And sometimes that’s true, sometimes it’s not. 

I think the thing that makes me mad is that this all stems from people not using words right (because I am, in the immortal words of Dr. Hastie Lanyon when describing Henry Jekyll, a hide-bound pedant) and making blanket statements, both of which piss me off royally.

I’ll uh

I’ll shut up now.

[bnjmin]

❝ you don’t give yourself enough credit. ❞ from cory               ACCEPTING.              @cxrleonis​.

         ben    +    insecurity is a complicated relationship.      complicated as in,      it almost seems like it doesn’t and never has existed,     except in the grand and magnificent moments that it does.

like,      now.     he’s with cory because she has to pick up slash drop off some things for her classroom and sometimes     ?     he’s clingy like that.    sue him.    even living together,     they both have their own shit to do,    and don’t spend nearly as much time together as you’d think.    one overarching reason being the fact that cory pulls nearly as much time  out  of school as she does when she’s actually teaching.     a testament to her,    of course,     and ben notes that with fondness and a small smile when he glances at her out of the corner of his eye,     and a testament to the demands of her profession.

       (     he remembers being younger,    the nights of five parent teacher conferences being had in rapid succession,     the reverence his parents would have for the mrs., the ms., the misses they’d sit across from at those half-moon tables.     they’d talk about it in the car on the way back,    and ben would only catch bits and pieces,    either because the din of noise of four, five, six, seven kids in the car was impossible to tune out,     or because he was young and didn’t understand,     or in high school and didn’t care.     he gets it now,     when cory comes home at four or five when the last bell rings at three,    and goes in on a saturday or sunday morning and comes back in the afternoon.    the fact that he knows the names and general attributes of maybe half the kids in her class is more than enough to further illustrate the point.     )

she ducks into her classroom,     and he doesn’t join her,    instead just reaches into his pocket for his phone.

             “    can i help you     ?     “

it scares him,     actually,     so much so that he feels even more ridiculous than he usually would once he whips around.    they look vaguely familiar,     as in one or two of them are present in the background of a memory in which ben was cory’s plus one to a holiday party that he got a little too buzzed at.    if he’s recognizable at all,     he hopes it’s for something else.

he jabs a thumb over his shoulder,     but takes his time answering the question.     mostly to work through the sudden annoyance that it flares.     “    she’s getting some stuff.     just waiting.    “

“      oh.     are you    ...     ?      “     there’s this one awful second where he thinks he’s going to have to say,    ‘yes,    i am drunk-guy-from-christmas-potluck’ but someone else perks up,     eyes alight behind glasses in trepid recognition.

             “     that’s her      boyfriend.     “     weird emphasis on the word.    ben elects to ignore it.      “    what’s your name    ?     bryan    ?    bryson    ?     “

ben winces,    but offers no correction.     a nod.     as much as he’d love to be rude,    he tries to keep cory in mind.     she has to see these people every day,    you’ll feel so bad if you fuck that up...      that,    and the only point of escape is passed    them to where he’s pretty sure the bathrooms are,     or into the classroom,    to where he’s almost positive they’d simply just follow him.

          an elderly woman fixes him with a crumpled brow,    curious.     “    what is it you do,    again     ?     she tells us but i can never remember.    “

and,     it’s not her fault.     he realizes that.    it’s small talk,    this generic space filler to keep everyone occupied until it’s socially acceptable to move on,     which is why he gets asked so fucking often.

“what do you do?”

“i’m in school right now.”

“what’s your major?”

“astrophysics.”

that usually garners an eyebrow raise, something of muted impression.     “wow.”     and then, he generally looks his age, so it’s, “so you’re just done with your master’s program then?”

and then, inevitably, ben finds some way out of the conversation.

          he’s graduated now.    so he doesn’t even have that excuse.    and it’s not even that he’s above lying,    but doing that would put him three or four years back instead of two.    he can never decide what’s worse.

      cory manages to save him from having to answer when she exits.

lo and behold,     he’s on their couch,    breath tinged with vodka and artificial citrus.    it’s just a small buzz,     something that makes his head feel fuzzy and heavy,    makes his tongue tingle behind his teeth.    cory’s overwhelmingly content to sit tucked into his side,    watch the movie that he’d suggested just to have some noise and moving pictures,    something to try and focus on.    

         she’s also content to let him spill things at his own pace,     and so when he finally works his jaw open,     he can feel her attention shift even if physically she doesn’t really budge.

     “     i’d have my master’s,     by now,    if i went to school like,     a normal person.     “    i.e.    a person with less baggage.    i.e.    a person that that didn’t drop out of school to pursue an addiction instead.    “    i’d be starting my phd,    or whatever.    “     a thought occurs to him,    and it makes him feel this weird mix of self-loathing and swelling pride because,     “     thomas has the same degrees as me.     which,     like,     he’s smart,    so yeah,    but it still makes me feel like a fucking    ��----    “     failure,    disaster,     fuck up,     let down,    “    ----    loser.

“     like,    i work at a record store.    it    ...    barely requires a high school diploma.    and you’re    ...    teaching the next generation.     expanding minds.     “      okay,    he’s a little more drunk than he thought.     he coughs,     to stop himself,     and then it’s quiet.    he wonders if she’s waiting to see if he’ll say anything else,    but he just breathes these deep breaths,    because he can feel his throat getting tight and his eyes kind of starting to burn,    a symptom of both more alcohol than he thought and also just him being    ...    who he is as a person.

       she touches his face,     and he feels the cushion dip a little as she sits up to face him.    she kisses him,    gentle,    and wipes at the corner of his eyes without even thinking about it because she knows him,     and she knows how he is.     he sniffles,    half as a joke and half just because he’s pathetic,    especially when she’s touching him and looking at him like she is.

              “     you don’t give yourself enough credit.      “     and she says it like she really means it,      because of course she does.     and ben nods even if he doesn’t really agree,     because what else could he possibly do    ?

[some-creep]

I could save myself a lot of words by just gesturing at the bottom picture and saying “This is why I think it’s stupid to call Heather “Cheryl” because the text directly contradicts this idea”. But I think we can unpack it a little bit more.

As we all know Silent HIll 3 ends with Heather saying she wants to be called Cheryl now and if you have a brain and can follow the narrative you’ll know wow that makes absolutely no sense at all. Then Dead by Daylight came around and gave everyone brain rot

what was i saying. Oh right.

In the first thing we get from Harry, his notebook, we read that not only was Harry unsure if he could love this randomly assigned child, he even considered killing her or just straight up abandoning her (presumably to die). And the inclusion of he thought of it “several” times suggests it wasn’t just when he first got her. It was a feeling that persisted whether he wanted it to or not.

Now, we know he did eventually learn to love her as his daughter. He says as such. We know from their brief interaction they had a good relationship at the time.

But Heather is having a massive identity crisis. She is “herself” but she’s also Alessa, and on top of that she’s ALSO Cheryl, a girl who, in a sense, was never even a complete person, which has to come with its own weird baggage. (And she does have memories of Jodie because when she was talking about remembering her sweet mother it sure as fuck wasn’t Dahlia she meant)

So now here’s Heather, burdened with the knowledge that she’s. Whatever the hell she is. Her dad is dead so she cannot talk to him about any of this, so she’s never getting closure. She’s now left to think about there was a time when her father hated who she is now. Her father, whom she loves dearly, at one point tried to kill her.

But dad never tried to kill Cheryl. Dad loved Cheryl from the start. Cheryl was his gift from God.

So if I’m Cheryl, that means dad has always loved me.

[pjtraveller]

"Okay, there's a lot to unpack there, but let's just throw away the whole suitcase. I'm pretty sure you said once that you only liked Waterloo, but also, glad to see you changed your mind on that."

"You'd be sad if I left and you know it. Actually, are you good, dude? Do I need to blast some Taylor Swift so you can just let it all out?"

"When the fuck did I say that?! Do YOU know all the lyrics to The Winner Takes It All? Have YOU belted it out in the shower whilst orbiting the last visited planet of YOUR ex-lover?"

"Should YOU get the hell off my ship? Inquiring minds...."

[last-flight-of-fancy]

‘sr would be bad mlm rep if they got together bc it would have come out of nowhere!’ it’s not the games fault you missed the foreshadowing.

[yourlocalsewerdragon]

hey dragon uh. so you know i just start traumaumping when im up late and someone is talking to me right?? uh so i started doing that to my sister???? who thinks im a cishet abled neurotypical??? and got really pissed off when she called our mom and my dad my family???? remind me never to text her at 2 am rip

Oh bestie I will that does not sound like a good decision that was made

[albatris]

one plus of having a psychotic protagonist is that tris's ability to take weird bullshit with a grain of salt is already maxed out and it's not INTENTIONALLY comedic but u get scenes like

he's just vibin in his room when he is suddenly overcome with an all-consuming sense of impending doom and feels the floor move from under him and starts hearing voices screaming and he's like Oh Sweet A Panic Attack and then every light bulb in his house shatters one right after the other and his phone receives 37 calls from the same number at the same time and overheats so bad it burns scorch marks into his floorboards

and like. he has no fuckin idea where to even begin unpacking all that. what the fuck, y'know?

and like, his logic in this scene is solid, 'cause it's like. well, sometimes when he's overtired or super stressed out his brain starts interpreting Perfectly Ordinary Events as strange and frightening, so even if that all seemed terrifying and confusing and Very Very Deeply Wrong in the moment, this is just par for the course, and often there's a perfectly reasonable rational explanation that he's able to access once he's cleared his head a bit and calmed down

but the scene itself is just like. this all happens. and tris is just like "ah! I'm sure I just need some sleep. yeah, that must be it :)" which is extremely valid