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ckret2 · 6 days ago

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Chapter 85 of human Bill Cipher getting a ✨💅 makeover 💇‍♀️✨ so he can seduce a government agent into not arresting him and/or the Mystery Shack gang: a flashback to Scalene & Euclid on Bill's birthday, Pacifica receiving the world's most inept lesson about fatphobia, and the continued adventures of the Pines family attempting to get a flash drive out of a goat's guts.

####

Scalene braced one shaking hand with the other as she reapplied her lipstick—a red so bright it was nearly orange, all the better to make her look a little less sickly than she felt.

She tried to pretend she didn't notice Euclid glaring daggers at her.

She'd come out of her swoon as she was being helped outside by several shapes, including Euclid supporting her with one arm and carrying Bill in the other. Once they were outdoors, someone had shoved the trophy and knives Bill had won into Euclid's hands, and then they'd been left outside as everyone else's attention turned to dealing with the mysterious fire that had spontaneously ignited inside; and for the past few minutes, Scalene had been putting herself back together while Euclid tried to soothe Bill.

Finally, once she deemed herself sufficiently presentable, she held out her arms to Euclid and their still-whimpering child. "All right, I can take him."

Euclid didn't move.

"Come on! You're not gonna hold a grudge against me for fainting, are you?"

Euclid said, "What did I tell you?"

"I brought my cane," Scalene said indignantly.

"Well, where was it?"

There was a long silence.

"Lene..."

"Oh, don't give me that look, it was just behind the curtain! I wasn't about to bring it on stage, I had to make sure Billy looked good!"

"What does your cane have to do with how good he looks?!"

"And the mayor didn't hand over the trophy fast enough," she said, ignoring Euclid's question. "If he had, I could have leaned on that. But no, he just kept yammering on..."

Euclid's copper blue eye had the most piercing glare in town. The fact that he also had the worst eyesight in town did nothing to dispel its power. Scalene much preferred when it was aimed at other people.

But then Bill wiggled his tiny hands toward Scalene with a displeased coo; and with a warning, "Careful," Euclid finally handed him over. "So. He didn't do too bad for his first outing. We've got a winner on our hands?"

Scalene was off the hook. She relaxed. "I think we do. The judges were very impressed he showed up to his first contest on his birthday."

"You'll only be able to do that once," Euclid pointed out.

"Sure, but for the rest of his life he can tell judges he went to his first pageant on the day he was born—can't you?" She directed the question to Bill. "Yes you can! That shows real ambition!" She poked one of his sides just beneath his eye. "And they were impressed by his good looks and how calm he is."

That was well deserved. Bill had entered the world with eye wide open—rather than face scrunched up and eye retracted to cry like most infants—and looking around for his parents, as though he were already used to the light and recognized his surroundings.

"Glad the judges didn't find it creepy, at least," Euclid said.

Scalene waved him off. "What did those nurses know? They should've been grateful to get a kid that isn't wailing in their faces! They couldn't appreciate how adorable he is—but look at him. From the front you'd think he's an oval." It was true: his corners were soft and rounded, and his angles were so flexible that his top angle squashed down toward his feet, making it look more like a right angle than acute. On top of that, his bright, shining pupil was so wide it took up half his face. "One of the judges said he looks downright cherubic. That's going on your resumé, young triangle."

Bill blinked sweetly up at his mother. He would never in his life need to write a resumé, for all the worst reasons.

"And—" Euclid lowered his voice, "—none of them realized how many birth defects he has?"

She swatted his arm. "Shh! No. Everything we've got is too obscure. As far as the pageant circuit is concerned, they're birth assets. My corners were still round when I started competing, and the judges thought I was adorable, too. As long as he goes on stage without braces on, they'll think he looks unique instead of deformed—just like I did."

"If he keeps going on stage without braces, he'll need a cane before he's middle-aged, just like you do."

"Not until his best pageant years are behind him," Scalene said icily. "Besides, we'll do better by him than my mother did for me. We already know what he has—"

"—we think we do, you left before the doctors could examine him—"

"—and I've already got appointments lined up for him with the best orthopedic doctor in the county and your and Euler's optometrist. We'll make sure his face stays pretty, his angles sharpen up, and his organs don't collapse in on themselves. He's just lucky he's got a mother that knows how to make that big eye of his look cute instead of bulgy." She pointed at the trophy, "As long as his good looks keep winning prizes, he'll be able to pay off his own medical bills and bring home a few bonuses."

For the first time, Euclid turned his attention to the trophy and the Knifeco gift box, and he laughed sharply. "Knifeco's still got the myor convinced that the next sample set he gives away for free will get everybody excited to order a full set from him, huh?"

Scalene scoffed. "I don't know why anybody would bother to order one. If they wait long enough and show up to a few city events, eventually they'll win a full set. How much of his own money has he spent on knife sample sets by now?"

"Last I heard? 30, 40k? We probably won't find out how much he's embezzled from city funds 'til next election."

"Otto's an idiot," Scalene said. "After all these years, you'd think he'd figure out the only way to make money at that company is to recruit more salesmen and get a cut of the profits from the kits they sell."

"You'd think." Euclid shrugged impassively. "But as long as I'm still getting 5% from each of his sales to himself, I'm not about to tell him that." He rubbed a thumb on one of Scalene's corners, rubbing off a bit of waxy red side liner to expose the duller pink underneath. "We probably wouldn't be able to afford your makeup habit without him."

Scalene swatted Euclid's hand away. "Well, we can throw away your old chipped set." She patted the dark wood box. "From now on, we're using the set Billy won for us—isn't that right, Billy?" She bounced Bill lightly by her side. He was staring at the box, transfixed. "I think he likes it! That's right, these are your birthday knives, sweetheart."

When his parents looked at the box, they only saw the dark wood; but Bill saw through the wood—over the wood—to the silvery needlelike knives within. They gleamed with starlight shining down from a higher dimension. And then Bill looked up at the stars, glittering far above. He wiggled in Scalene's arm, but couldn't figure out how to move his limbs in the direction he saw above.

Euclid looked at the wiggling child, and tensed up. "Lene. Look at his eye."

She did, and sucked in a sharp breath. "What happened to him?"

"If this is because you dropped him..."

Bill's pupil had disappeared, leaving his eye looking empty and bloodshot silver. But at the change in the tone of his parents' voices, he blinked and focused on them curiously, his pupil back where it belonged like it had never disappeared.

They stared speechlessly at him.

"Did you and Euler's eyes ever do that?" Scalene asked. "Before those surgeries you got as kids?"

"Not—not that I remember. But I could ask Mom and Dad," he said, already knowing the answer would be no.

She stared at Bill's eye a moment longer; but when he didn't do anything but stare back innocently, she sighed. "Well, that's something else we can ask your optometrist. Maybe he'll have a fix for it."

####

While Pacifica was in the bathroom cleaning up after their makeup experimentation, Goldie stood from his folding chair to lean on the desk next to Mabel, staring with a look of intense concentration into the air over the chair about where his head had been.

"What's up?" Pacifica asked, leaning out of the bathroom.

Distractedly, Goldie said, "Nothing, just watching you do my face."

Pacifica frowned. "What? I'm over here?"

Mabel leaned between them, laughing nervously. "What he means is, he does this thing where he, uhh, imagines that he can see what happened around him in the past, so he's... pretending he's watching you put makeup on his face a few minutes ago." At Pacifica's skeptical look, Mabel hastily added, "It's not like a psychic thing or anything! It's just a... um..."

Goldie mumbled, "Mindfulness visualization exercise."

"Yeah! It helps him memorize stuff! Right?"

"You bet. All the best venture capitalists are doing it."

Pacifica said, "Oh, I think a CEO my dad invited over was talking about that. Is it like a meditation thing? You think about what you want to get it?"

"Say it until you believe it, believe it until it's true!" Mabel said.

Goldie elbowed her. "Look who's been paying attention." She beamed at him.

Pacifica packed the makeup, brushes, and spare hair ties and pins he'd need in a bag, and handed it over. "Okay, that should take care of your face. When you shower tonight, remember to wash all the makeup off, you do not want this messing with your pores; remember to moisturize or your skin will crack apart like a mummy's"—one of her mother's favorite threats—"get Mabel to help pin your curls tomorrow, and just do what I showed you for the rest. Now we just have to worry about clothing." She sized up his hair color, his skin color—couldn't quite bring herself to look at his eye color, though. "I think you're a spring. You can probably pull off some autumn colors too. But usually springs are supposed to tan easier than they burn..."

"I do!" He gestured at himself, sunburns and all, and said proudly, "This took hard work!"

That answered a question she'd been asking herself all day, and brought up half a dozen more. "Not going to ask. So, you want to go for bright, clear, warm colors. And you'll look better in gold accessories."

"I know," he said smugly.

Colors were the easy part. She wished she'd had time to call up her personal tailor to bring by some dresses that could be adjusted. Goldie had such a weird body shape—narrow shoulders, sticklike arms, slender calves, and then a wide waist and even wider hips. There couldn't be much clothing that fit him, masculine or feminine. "Do you have any cute clothes in colors that flatter you? Feminine clothes?"

"What's feminine? Dresses?" Goldie turned to Mabel. "Everything else is hit-or-miss, but dresses and skirts are still universally feminine around here, right?" Pacifica was dying to know what Goldie's life had been like.

"Yeah," Mabel said, "I think we managed to get that yellow summer dress at the mall."

Pacifica winced. "Is a summer dress all you've got?" Not the worse choice, depending on the cut, but it probably wouldn't do his figure any favors.

"It's either that or Jesús's grandma's skirts," Goldie said, shrugging. "Did we manage to snag that sparkly dress with all the pink peacock feathers?"

"That's more of a third date dress. You don't want him to think you're out of his league," Mabel said. "It's too bad we didn't get that galaxy print skirt."

"You know what I could really use? Halter top trapeze dress. Maybe stick a petticoat under the skirt for extra volume. They've gotta make trapeze dresses with petticoats somewhere."

"I could probably make one," said Mabel (who wasn't even sure what a trapeze dress was but was over the moon to see him voluntarily express an interest in human clothing).

Pacifica's face twisted in a grimace. Pityingly, she said, "Oh, you really don't know your body type at all."

He gave her an unimpressed look. "Don't I?"

The thing was, a trapeze dress in and of itself wasn't a bad idea: it was tight around the bust, flared out like a tent underneath, and stopped before the knees; so it could highlight his slim shoulders and arms, let him show off his thin calves, and do at least a bit to conceal those thunder thighs and flabby waistline. But... "A halter top would make your shoulders look way too narrow; and a petticoat would completely undermine the flattering effects of a trapeze dress, and—where would you even position the petticoat? Trapeze dresses doesn't have a waistline."

"About where the skirt starts," Goldie said, drawing a line in the air around bust height.

He couldn't be serious. "Absolutely not. You'd look like a walking triangle."

A smile of near maniacal glee stretched across Goldie's face. Before he could say anything, Mabel grabbed his arm and said, "I think you should just go with what Pacifica says! Pacifica, what do you think?"

"Just—stick with the dress you already have." Between a triangle trapeze dress, the threat of pink feathers, and galaxy print, suddenly Pacifica was grateful for the yellow summer dress. "It's great. Summer dresses are flirty. Do you have shoes that match it?"

Goldie pointed at his fish slippers. "It's these, black oxfords, or foam clogs."

"No," Pacifica said. "Sandals, flats, or open toe heels. And throw away the fish slippers."

"Never."

Mabel said, "You could reuse the sandals you borrowed from Dipper for your Summerween costume?"

"Please don't tell me what they look like," Pacifica said. "Okay, dress, shoes—accessories... just, get something nice but understated. And classy. Do I need to explain what 'classy' looks like?"

"Relax, I used to have a collection of gold that put Albion Art to shame," Goldie said. "I know how to do 'classy.'"

"I'm going to pretend I trust you," Pacifica said. "Okay, underwear—got to wear a bra unless the dress has built-in support; and if you hurry, it's probably not too late to go wherever poor people shop and grab some shapewear for your..." she gestured vaguely toward Goldie's abdomen, "problem area..."

"No," Goldie said flatly. "I'm drawing the line at shapewear. I look fine."

Ooh, not good. His attitude toward everything else about his looks ranged from "apathy" to "disgust," why was flaunting his not-flauntworthy curves the point where he chose to push back? She should've been more direct with him. "Hon, I love the confidence, but..." Pacifica grimaced apologetically. "You're fat. Like, really fat. And you're not gonna win this guy if he thinks you've let yourself go."

Mabel shot from slouching to sitting straight up. "Pacifica!"

"What, it's true! He probably thinks having skinny arms hides it, but back me up here—it is not subtle."

"Don't say that, he's beautiful!!"

Pacifica had been braced for Goldie to be outraged, embarrassed, ashamed, go into denial, something—just about anything except snort with laughter. He waved them off when they looked at him. Pacifica wondered whether he'd misunderstood the conversation. "Listen to you two! You're letting the subtext do so much of the heavy lifting that you don't even realize half the things you're saying." His gaze on them was cold and faintly amused; and for a moment Pacifica felt like a bug whose behavior was being studied by some immense alien being, and who had been judged inferior.

"Anyway, I'm not trying to hide anything—and I'd make it less subtle if I could. I love my shape!" He pantomimed his shape with his hands—although, where most people would sort of draw an hourglass shape if they wanted to their body's curves, the shape he drew in the air looked more like a triangle. Which, admittedly, was more true to his actual appearance. "And you're changing it over my dead bo—" He winced, muttering, "Maybe not the best way to put that."

Now Pacifica wondered if she'd misunderstood him. "What."

"Look, kid..." Goldie stood straighter, put a hand on Pacifica's shoulder, and adopted the most patronizing tone she'd ever heard. "I know your parents taught you the only things contributing to your personal worth are how rich you are and how attractive other people find you, so let's agree that's all that really matters, right?"

"Um," said Pacifica, who was pretty sure she was about to receive some twee lesson about 'inner beauty' but had never heard one that started with the lecturer agreeing that wealth and looks were the most important things.

"And I know Missy Priscy's got you convinced that your beauty and your weight are engaged in a battle to the death over the right to terraform your flesh. So this might blow your mind—but you've been lied to! The sight of a human female over size 4 doesn't cause the contents of a human male's gonads to curdle! Fat chicks have been successfully getting hitched and passing the genetic baton to their offspring for all of human history—and reproduction is the only objective benchmark evolution has to measure who's hot and who's not, so you can rate that higher than the opinion of a tarnished trophy who thinks enough botox will make her immortal. Hear what I'm saying, Alpaca. Absorb it. Incorporate it into your worldview."

She bristled at the description of her mother, but swallowed back the urge to lash out. He was bitter and taking it out on her. He was feeding her a load of sour grapes. This was just the kind of thing fat people told themselves to feel less bad about being fat. "Riiight."

Goldie's patronizing smirk curled down at one corner in irritation. "Ah, who'm I kidding! You're not gonna believe me! Your mom, your modeling job, the pageant world, the beauty industry—they've burrowed way too deep in your head, and there's no digging them back out without a lobotomy." He scoffed. "You're one snide jab at the wrong time away from an eating disorder."

"Hey! How dare you!" Pacifica thought that was way meaner than anything she'd said.

Mabel snapped, "B—Goldie! Be nice! What's gotten into you two!"

"Yeesh, touched a nerve! Excuse me!" He raised his hands apologetically, but he was grinning impishly. "Anyway—" he raised his voice as the girls attempted to scold him again, "Anyway! More to the point—our target looked me up and down in a bikini and asked if he could help slather sunscreen around my waist, so I think he thinks my body looks great in the shape it's already in. And getting the guy is the only important thing—right?"

If Goldie was telling the truth, Pacifica couldn't think of any other reason some guy would volunteer to rub sunscreen on him—even if she found it hard to believe. And if he was making it up, then whatever, he could sabotage himself if he wanted, she didn't care. She rolled her eyes, grit her teeth, and muttered, "Fine."

"Not fine! Both of you hold on!" Mabel stood, decided she wasn't tall enough, and climbed on the folding chair. "You two were just really mean to each other! That's terrible—especially after you were getting along so great! Apologize to each other!" She crossed her arms, glaring them down.

Pacifica stared at her in disbelief, brows raised. "I beg your pardon?"

But Goldie didn't look like this was odd to him at all. He just rolled his eyes—"All right, all right,"—and looked at Pacifica. "C'mon. You can't be that mad. You've heard worse."

She scowled at him, but she supposed she had. From her mom, her old pageant coach, her manager that got her modeling jobs—she was just more used to warnings about getting fat than she was to warnings about fearing getting fat. "So have you."

"Worse than you can imagine," Goldie said. "We're good?"

"We're good," Pacifica said.

Goldie looked at Mabel. "We're good!"

Mabel looked between the two of them suspiciously. "That was an apology?"

"Got the job done, didn't it?"

Mabel didn't look pleased, but she sat down on the folding chair and crossed her arms.

Pacifica said, "Okay, you're off the hook for shapewear—but if he thinks you look like a slob, it's on you."

He rolled his eyes. "Noted!"

"But you've got to wear a bra. What are the straps like on the summer dress, do you have a bra that'll fit under it okay?"

Goldie groaned. "We can reuse my bikini and pad the cups or something. We don't have time to go to the mall and figure out what size I am."

In horror, Pacifica quietly asked, "Do... do you not even own a bra."

"Why would I?" Goldie asked, like he couldn't imagine a single practical reason. Hard to tell his size through an oversized t-shirt; he was definitely small, but it wasn't like he was flat. "I've never really cared about local fashion outside of batiks, brocades, tie dyes, and sarcastic t-shirts, but now that it's affecting me personally? I cannot wait for that particular fad to die."

Since when were batiks local. And who calls bras a fad. That's like calling shoes a fad. "What is your life like," Pacifica asked.

Goldie grinned. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

####

"That's it. That's all I can do for you," Pacifica said. "Good luck on... whatever it is you're doing. Because I'm pretty sure you're not actually into this guy?"

Mabel said, "Wooing a federal agent to avoid getting the whole family arrested!"

Pacifica nodded. "Oh, cool. Let me know how that goes."

Mabel stopped to hug Giorgio on the way out.

As they left Pacifica's barn, Bill turned to face Mabel. "Welp!" He pantomimed like he was playing a violin, "Ready to bow on some poor sucker's heartstrings until we yank out his aorta?"

"Ha ha. Yeah. Sure." Mabel tried to smile and it came out as a grimace. "Sounds great."

"Hey, don't give me that look!" He shoved Mabel's shoulder. "You've heard me say gorier things than that!" He flashed her a grin she could only describe as bloodthirsty, and bounced off toward the road back to town, so cheerful he was very nearly floating.

And she watched him go, biting her lip.

Something had been bothering her since his argument with Pacifica:

She couldn't figure out why he wasn't better.

####

Bill nudged Mabel. "Hey. Am I in trouble?"

"What?"

"You've been giving me the silent treatment since we left." That had been about fifteen minutes earlier. "Is it because of the eating disorder thing? Do I have to apologize to you for that? It's not like I was insulting her! If anything, I did her a favor by warning her—"

She gave him a sour look—that had been very rude, even if not Bill's typical existential horror cosmic nightmare level rudeness—but said, "No, it's not that. I'm just thinking about stuff."

"Are you gonna share it, or do I have to wait until I can crawl inside your head again to find out?"

Mabel was silent a moment. "Do you actually like tie-dye?"

"That's what's bothering you?" He pulled his eyepatch back on—Pacifica had told him putting it back on would probably mess up his makeup, but that didn't really matter until tomorrow. "Of course I do, who doesn't! It's chaos on a shirt." He shrugged. "I've never had any—but, y'know, it's nice to look at, anyway."

"Wait, never? We should do tie-dye together! I can get us some white shirts and we can dye them outside," Mabel said. "Maybe I can invite Grenda and Candy!"

"Sounds like a party! Let me know when, you know what my schedule looks like."

"Great!" She beamed at him.

But as they walked, her smile slowly faded as she drifted back into her own thoughts.

His ideas about flirting were very hit or miss, but Mabel thought they were probably hits more often with aliens that thought dead salmon smelled sexy. He'd had a girlfriend, at any rate.

And he'd gotten chummy with Abuelita (even after she tried to poison him), he'd charmed Gideon's mom in like ten seconds, Wendy thought he was cool and so did half her gang, Candy and Grenda said he was fun, Mabel was pretty sure Stan kinda liked him even if he wouldn't admit it... He'd even managed to develop a rapport with Pacifica—Pacifica!—which had taken Mabel like two-thirds of the summer!—and he'd done it even though they'd insulted each other!

He was charming, he was fun, he clearly got romance...

So how come he didn't have true love and best friends that weren't evil?

The question itched at her brain.

Mabel firmly believed that the only thing that made people bad was not getting enough love. Family love, friend love, romance love, adorable cuddly pet love, whatever. Put love in, get love out; put nothing in, get a swirling vortex of loneliness and hatred where the love should have been stored. Like Prickly Bee in Color Critters! Who during season one had been one of the color-hating bad guys, but in season two had inexplicably joined the good guys due to network executive meddling, and it wasn't until season three that they did a flashback episode showing that the critters had won her over by showing her the kindness and caring that her old boss Serpent Grey never had!

And at the beginning of summer, after Mabel helped Bill get his hair back, he'd said it had been a long time since anyone had been nice to him; and he'd been nice to her since then, so that seemed to support her theory. All it took was a little love!

She just couldn't figure out why he didn't already have enough.

He had all those monster friends he'd tried to conquer the world with last year, but maybe they were those "people who claim to be friends but are actually allies who hate each other" that you see amongst cartoon villains. (Like Serpent Grey's minions.) Was it because they were aliens? Were aliens not good at friendship? Had he been deprived until now?

She remembered how heavy even the smallest glimpse at his pain had been—listening to him grieve over his own death. It was clear that, whatever he'd had before, what he needed now was better love, more friends—enough to share that psychological weight without collapsing—but how much would be enough to untwist his crooked morality?

Mabel was running out of time. Summer was almost halfway over. She only had seven more weeks to reintegrate Bill into society—to help him make amends for everything he'd done last summer—or else... or else she'd failed. She'd failed him.

And she knew she was making progress with Bill, but she didn't know if it was enough. She wished he'd go faster. She wished summer would go slower. She wished she had more time.

She remembered what had happened the last time she'd wished for a little more summer.

So she'd just have to figure out how to save him in the time they had left. She couldn't just pick up a broken teacup, glue half the pieces together, then abandon it half-repaired to leak tea all over the floor. She was a problem solver, it was what she did. She had to solve this problem—or else everything she'd done this past year would be for nothing.

As they walked, she reached out to grab Bill's hand. He gave her a curious look, but he didn't pull it back.

"Was all that stuff true about you doing pageants as a kid?" (There must have been something in his past to explain why he didn't have enough love—maybe in his childhood.) "Or did you just make that up to make Pacifica relax?" (She guiltily remembered him accusing her of trying to "fix" him—how badly he'd been hurt by the thought.)

She felt his hand tense in her grip, but he shrugged dismissively. "They're not exactly identical to human beauty pageants—no real fashion component, for one thing—but, yeah. Did 'em as a kid. I went to my first pageant on the day I was born."

"So you lied when you told me you didn't do them yourself?"

"I did not," Bill said indignantly. "I just didn't correct you when you guessed wrong!"

At Mabel's sour look, Bill rolled his eye and said, "What, am I supposed to correct you every time you say something wrong? Because humans are wrong about just about everything—"

"Bill."

He huffed. "The specifics weren't any of your business, okay? It's—not something I talk about with humans. Or any other aliens, for that matter."

"Why not? Was it—"

"Because it's ancient history," he said sharply.

Mabel gave him a worried look. When he didn't elaborate, she said, "So, is it really as stressful as you and Pacifica made it sound?"

"Stressful!" Bill scoffed. "Name a part of life that isn't stressful. School, work, breeding a family, yadda yadda—better to learn how to handle it early, right? And it's only stressful if you're bad at it! I was good. I was very good."

"Good at what?" Mabel asked.

"Uh..." Bill had to grasp for a moment. "Being... cute. Charming the judges. Wowing 'em at the talent portion—when I wasn't starting fires. I really did play the piano! I mean—not a piano, but the closest equivalent my world had. There's nothing cuter than a kid playing an instrument he can hardly reach each end of." At Mabel's continued worried look, he said, "What! It was harmless. It was just a bunch of baby shapes bumbling around the stage looking adorable, that's all! It wasn't that bad!"

He was quiet for a moment; and then he repeated to himself, "It wasn't that bad."

####

"Don't get any closer," Stan said. "This place is about to be a toxic waste dump."

Bill and Mabel looked around Stan. In the middle of the clearing behind the Mystery Shack, a tent had been set up. Inside, a goat bleated in a plea for help.

Mabel asked, "Why?"

"Poindexter and your brother's plan to get that computer doohickey out of the goat the old-fashioned way didn't work. He wouldn't eat the concoction they mixed up. So they're getting it out of him the other old-fashioned way."

"Vivisection?" Bill asked hopefully.

"No—" Stan fell silent, squinted at Bill's face, and decided not to comment on his new look. "Vomit. You remember that witch's brew we used to chase off the flying eyeball that you—er—you knew?"

Mabel screwed up her face. "Oh, yuck, that was the worst thing I ever smelled."

Stan tipped his head toward the tent. "Well, they're about to detonate what's left of it."

"'Detonate'?"

Ford's voice came from the tent: "On the count of three! One... two..."

There was a muffled boom. The walls of the tent billowed outward and an orange ball of fire illuminated Ford, Dipper, and Gomper's silhouettes. Gompers let out a loud bleat of distress.

Voice strained, Dipper said, "Ugh, that smell—I think I'm gonna be—" He had to try a couple of times to unzip the tent, then stumbled out and landed on his hands and knees in the dirt, gasping for fresh air.

Ford—wearing a gas mask—ducked out of the tent. "I told you you'd want a mask."

"Smelling it in close quarters is way—" He clapped a hand over his mouth and gagged, "—way worse than I thought."

"Well?" Stan called. "Did anything come up?"

Ford peered back into the tent. "No."

Stan flung his hands up.

"Don't lose hope," Ford said. "I have a spell to induce vertigo somewhere. I don't remember all the words, but..."

Bill spent several seconds pretending he didn't notice Ford was staring directly at him before he said, "Can I help you?"

"You know the spell, don't you?"

"What, the Maximus Vertiginous? 'Course I do. Classic prank."

Ford stared at him expectantly. Bill said, "What?"

"How does it go?" Ford asked impatiently.

"Oh, you expect me to teach you?" Bill rolled his eye.

Mabel frowned up at him. "Come on, Bill, don't be a jerk."

The back of his neck started heating up as he realized the whole family was staring at him. He stood a little straighter. "Listen to you, ya little hypocrite! Aren't you the one who keeps showing me those cute cartoons telling me to be myself?" To Stanford, he said, "I don't tutor my dropouts. Go find your own notes, Stanford Pines."

Ford glowered at Bill, but then he left the tent, zipped it shut behind himself, and trudged toward the shack. His irritated muttering was muffled by the gas mask.

As soon as the door shut, Stan clapped his hands. "Okay! Ford's gone, now we're doing this my way." As he passed Dipper, he said, "C'mon, kid, chop chop. I need your help, your hands are smaller than mine."

Dipper groaned, but got back to his feet, pulled his shirt over his nose, and trudged back to the tent with Stan. "What are we doing?"

"The same thing you and Ford were—but more assertive! Sixer nixed my plan, but his obviously didn't work." Stan unzipped the tent's flap. "All right. I'll hold the goat's mouth open, you reach in."

"Ohhh no."

Bill's face lit up. "Heeey, that sounds fun! Let me try! My hands are small and I can actually see the flash drive!"

"Oh no you don't," Stan said. "We can't risk you picking up the eyeball repellant stink, you've gotta stay pretty until loverboy shows up!"

"What, so suddenly I'm too pretty to grope a goat's guts?" Bill stared at Mabel in disbelief, waiting for her to commiserate over this injustice.

Mabel—who was still a bit miffed about being called a hypocrite—said, "Let's just go in." As they walked to the porch, she said, "'Be yourself' doesn't mean be a jerk. It means 'don't hide your talents' and 'keep doing your hobbies even if other people think they're boring' and stuff."

"Yeah, well, what if one of my talents is being a jerk?"

Mabel groaned. "There's gotta be an episode that covers this."

As Stan entered the tent, he said, "Phew, that reeks! Hey, zip the tent when you come in."

Dipper hung back nervously, half in the tent and pinching his nose shut. "Grunkle Stan, I'm not sure about this idea."

"Come on, it—it can't be hard! Farmers do this. I think. Look, I'm doing the hard part, all you have to do is reach down his throat! Lemme just... get my fingers between his jaws...

Gompers bleated angrily. Stan hollered in pain.

"Oh, no!" Dipper dove for Gompers and landed in the dirt as the goat shot past. From the porch, Mabel and Bill could only watch as Gompers headed the other way.

Soos walked around the corner of the shack. "Hey, du—whoa!"

"Soos!" Dipper shouted. "Catch him!"

Soos dove to the side to get out of the way of the charging goat, watched him vanish into the forest, and said, "Aw—dude, I just did the opposite of what you asked me to do. That's totally my bad."

Ford opened the back door with a handful of papers and his gas mask pushed up on his forehead. "I heard shouting, what happened?"

"Uhhh," Soos said. "Gompers just escaped into the forest."

"What?! How?!"

Stan stumbled through the tent's flap, cradling a hand. "It was—it was totally unexpected. Just ran off for no reason. Completely unprompted," he said. "He also bit my hand. Don't ask why my hand was so close to his mouth."

Ford said, "Which way?! We have to follow him immediately! If the agents detect the drive's signal before we retrieve him—"

"Don't bother," Bill said. "As long as he's in the forest, if he doesn't want to be caught, he won't be. There's nothing you can do until he comes out."

Ford narrowed his eyes. "How are you so sure?"

"He ate some magic rocks."

"Ah. Well." He shrugged in defeat. Nothing they could do if he'd eaten magic rocks. "But what if he does want to be caught?"

Bill gestured toward the forest with a flourish. "If you think he's eager for more of the hors d'oeuvres and perfume you've been offering him today, go get 'im."

Stan cleared his throat. "Well—the good news is, when the agents get here, they won't find the thingamajig in the Mystery Shack! Eh? Ehhh?"

"Oh, yeah, that's what I was coming over to tell you guys," Soos said. "I was taking out the trash, and I saw this car parked just up the road, and it looked like the car the government dudes were in today, so, I think they're watching the shack now?"

There was a long silence as the group processed that.

"We can't be outside," Ford said. "If they see Stan they'll want to interrogate him, if they see Bill here after hours they'll know he's not a passing tourist, and if they see me they'll realize I'm not a superior officer from Washington—"

Bill slammed his fist on the back door. "Then stop rambling and let me in!"

Ford opened the door and ushered everyone inside. "Hurry!"

"But what about Gompers?" Dipper asked. "We've gotta at least try to find him before the agents do!"

"What if the agents follow you to Gompers?" Ford asked. Dipper hesitated.

Mabel said, "We can make disguises so they won't recognize us!" She took off her half of the enchanted friendship bracelets, chucked it toward the coat rack just inside the door, and ran upstairs. "Come on!"

Dipper shot one last worried look toward the forest, then followed her.

Ford shut the door and asked Stan in a low voice, "How long is Gompers usually gone when he wanders off?"

"No telling. Sometimes I don't see him for weeks at a time."

Soos said, "So if they're gonna keep looking until they find that drive, but we can't go looking because they're watching us, and Gompers doesn't come back, so we can't find the drive, and they can't find the drive... then, how do we get rid of them?"

"We don't," Stan said. "Unless they find something more interesting than the drive."

As Bill added his end of the bracelet to the coat rack, he was keenly aware of three sets of eyes on him. He could see the cold gray walls of his cell in the— of the surgical suite in Hangar 618. Oh, he was certainly a billion times more interesting than some lousy drive; and if the eagles figured that out...

"Distracting them for a few hours won't cut it, will it," Ford asked him.

Bill pushed away the phantom psychological weight of heavy ankle cuffs and cheap orange fabric. "Doesn't look like it. You'll need some other way to make them leave."

Grimly, Ford said, "It looks like your job just got a lot more important."

####

(Your "what was edited due to TBOB" roundup: as mentioned in an earlier chapter, some of the specifics of the pageant scene came from TBOB—the name of the "best baby ever" award and the mayor handing out free knives. But everything else was plotted well before TBOB—including Bill being born able to see the stars, having a condition that makes him unusually flexible (which lines up with Baby Bill's squishy look quite well), and his parents getting him medical treatment at a very young age due to, among other things, his weird eye. Most of the rest of the chapter was written pre-TBOB.

Although my god did i rewrite the conversation about Bill's weight a hundred times. This has been a high priority to work into the fic for some time! I wanted to make it clear that Bill's body shape isn't merely a cosmetic part of his character design but something with actual in-world impact, that for him it's a positive and not meant to be punitive or a joke, and that Pacifica's got issues and we're gonna be dealing with them. The hard part was doing all that while avoiding Bill sounding like an enlightened angel spreading the gospel of fat positivity to the ignorant masses, rather than what he actually is: a selfish alien who realizes humans are being stupid but whose only personally investment in this issue is convincing a 13-year-old not to make him wear spanx.

Next week, the agents are finally back, and Bill gets to put all that flirting practice into action! I'm sure he'll do a great job.)

#bill cipher #human bill cipher #gompers #(<- for the art. i feel like gompers doesn't get much art so this is worth highlighting.)#pacifica northwest #scalene cipher #euclid cipher #(<- for the actual chapter)#gravity falls #gravity falls fic #gravity falls fanart #fanart #my art #my writing #bill goldilocks cipher

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arceus-insanity · 3 months ago

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Endeavor Deserves No Sympathy!

I don't understand how anyone can think Endeavor was ever a good dad. It also always comes off as incredibly victim blamie, especially towards Touya, and often Shoto too.

He literally only got married and had kids to use them. He never gave a shit about their well being, never even thought about it until he had the one thing he cared about and was still miserable. I've already gone over the math proving he gave up on achieving his dream himself at 21 at the absolute latest. (https://www.tumblr.com/arceus-insanity/763259515356512256/i-liked-endeavors-character-when-he-was?source=share)

And basic math will once again be used to prove just how little this waste of flesh actually tries.

This time the focus is on how quickly he abandoned Touya and immediately went to emotional abuse via neglect & literally replacing him, and once again risking that more children be born with self-destructive quirks.

For context we only see Endeavor doing anything with his kids that's not him literally walking through and ignoring them in two circumstances. Once when Fuyumi's a newborn and Touya is attempting to crawl (not walk) over to her. And training. Those are the only times he tries to spend with any of them, even after he starts his 'atonement'

Now comparing Touya in the scene of them training and himself as a toddler and all the child imagery this series loves to use instead of actually saving imperfect victims, Touya is at least 3 (probably closer to 4) when he's taken to the doctor and they are informed of his condition

Natsuo is 4 and a half years younger than him.

We know for a fact Natsuo (& Shoto) was conceived after they got the news, not willingly either. Pregnancy takes 40 weeks average, so Touya would still be 3 when Natsuo was conceived. So once again it took this 'man' less than a year to give up and have another child he hoped to use as a tool, and was explicitly making to hurt his existing son. And as I have said plenty of times before, risking that the new kids could be born with the same disorder, I hate how convenient it is that Shoto gets near zero negative quirk side effects.

Want to know what we never see, Endeavor doing something else with Touya and Touya demanding training, it's always him walking past/ away from Touya. Considering all of the shit they've pulled to soften Endeavor's abuse both in the manga and even more so in the anime, they wouldn't skip something like this. It's not hard to tell that Touya's 'obsession with training' is really about spending time with his dad, you know like a human child that literally needs love, proven by numerous studies and research in the real world.

He throws all parenting responsibilities onto Rei, adds more children to that load, and when Touya suffers for it (like everyone else) he does nothing, doesn't even hire a nanny

Another are you kidding me take I've seen is that somehow Touya's quirk issues are worse than Midoriya's and Yuga's. Touya managed to train his quirk to produce blue fire at 13 with zero equipment and less than no help, and only lost control of it, because of the mental abuse Endeavor had inflicted on him leading him to a mental breakdown. And/ or the theory I've only seen once of AFO using his ability to force quirk activation (seen with a passed out chapter 90 during his first confrontation with All Might)

Midoriya was breaking his bones all the way into the Shie Hassaikai arc and was only able to fight because Eri and was breaking support equipment in the following arc as well. Yuga had a support belt all the way back in the entrance exam and was still struggling with that.

Speaking of Yuga let's compare parental effort here, because as much as it backfired Yuga's parents tried a whole lot more. For starters they nearly bankrupted themselves to get him a quirk, so he could feel equal. All For One is a mythic man prior to his arrest, and those who knew of him were shown to be serious long-term villain groups, so they had gone to quite a bit of effort to find that he existed to begin with. They also got him support gear (the navel belt thing) as a kid to help him with said quirk, he literally had it in the entrance exam. Endeavor never looked into that, Endeavor is not only rich too but he's a top hero he would have direct access to support equipment companies that would jump at the opportunity and it never even occurred to him.

Endeavor's name is an irony as endeavour means to try hard to do or achieve something. He never tries hard he gives up incredibly quickly the second there's any road block, but instead of moving on he makes everyone suffer for it. He's a toxic pageant mom who'd rather force their child into a toxic world and a role they don't want than work on himself

And what finally makes him change? Getting exactly what he wanted and still being miserable, and he still expects through his actions his family to cater to him.

Not his son getting a major disability due to his actions, no, he decided to double down, mentally abusing and neglecting the son he supposedly loves, raping his wife who didn't want more kids or participate in this abuse, and again risking that Natsuo & later Shoto might have that same issue. Not when his wife breaks down and permanently scars his precious masterpiece, who proceeds to rightfully blame him, and he just thinks of it as a tantrum despite it lasting a fucking decade. Not when his eldest literally dies as the result of his selfishness. Not literally during any part of this entire process!

Dabi is 23 when Endeavor finally starts to 'try' to be better, that means that for at least 24 years he has only been caring about his fucking precious number one spot in a popularity contest that he couldn't even bother to try to be likeable for, this wasn't one bad decision, this was him constantly choosing to be so insanely selfish that he found ways that shouldn't even be possible for over two decades. And it was all him.

#bnha #bnha critical #mha #mha critical #bnha meta #my hero academia #mha meta #anti endeavor #boku no hero academia #anti enji todoroki #rei todoroki deserves better #dabi deserves better #shoto todoroki deserves better #fuyumi todoroki decerves better #natsuo todoroki deserves better

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owlets-outlet · 3 months ago

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my mouthwashing good ending headcanons:

on the tulpar:

1. anya tells swansea and daisuke about the assault pretty much immediatelly after the crash. the crew seals jimmy in his room with insulation foam until they get rescued.

( i was thinking about letting the crew kill j*mmy, however. he doesnt deserve that mercy. so he lives and is jailed forever. )

2. the crew dont know what to do about the baby. anya doesnt want to use pills for diy abortion, mainly because thats what jimbo told her to do and she doesnt want to listen to him.

in a dangerous twist of fate, she miscarries, because of stress and low bodyweight. its not a dramatic miscarriage, the fetus just dies in the uterus. anya suspects she miscarried, but doesnt tell the crew so they dont worry about her.

3. the crew gets rescued just in time- anya was on the verge of dying from the infection that started festering inside her from the miscarriage.

immediately after rescue:

anya and curly are rushed to the hospital. they got treatment on the rescue ship already, but that was only the bare minimum. pony express pays only for the bare minimum treatments.

curly is hooked up to a sci-fi mind reading communication device. its not perfect, but they manage to find out what happened. jimmy is arrested.

swansea:

after losing his job and breaking his dry streak, hes surprisingly okay. using his severance pay and his savings, he opens a small business, becoming a freelance electrician.

he doesnt drink as much as he used to, but he drinks regularly. he still buys himself sneakers on his soberversary though.

daisuke didnt even have to beg him too hard to be accepted as his apprentice, really.

daisuke becomes his other child, basically, he visits daisuke and regularly treats the him and the crew to meals, just like he does with his bio kids.

he also takes daisuke thrifting sometimes, judging his outfits on a scale of 1-10.

daisuke:

hes back to living with his parents.

daisuke really wanted to continue being swanseas apprentice, not just because he liked swansea, but because he really wanted to feel useful somehow.

he doesnt really vibe with most swanseas kids, but hes polite everytime they visit the shop where he helps swansea.

him and anya do gaming nights, often hopping on discord call in the late evening.

he still struggles with impostor syndrome, feeling like he didnt do enough for the crew of the tulpar.

curly:

he struggles with his mental health extensively. hes traumatized by being forced into being a bystander and his new disability keeps reminding him of that fact. his old crew encourages him to keep going though, and daisukes family pays for his therapy sessions.

he underwent many surgeries, mainly skin transplants (he still looks. uncanny though), rhinoplasty (more like. he just got a whole new nose altogether) and added eyelids (made his eye look smaller than before) and lips.

while this IS the Future, many of the cool 'solutions' to his disability are too expensive. pony express only paid for curlys wheelchair with a communicator and a cheap pair of prosthetic arms. the motor abilites of these arms are limited, as he cannot even write with them. theyre purely there just so he can operate his wheelchair by himself.

he wants to save money to buy new legs and arms, mostly just because he'd love to get back into weightlifting again.

after being fired, he mostly relies on disability pay and benefits.

he dropped many of his old friends, because they sympathised with jimmy, but he still has a close knit group of friends, with whom he lives.

he wanted to quit being a pilot long before the crash, and his old crew convinced him that he should pursue something new, to help him move on.

with the financial support of daisukes parents (daisuke begged them), curly enrolls in med school. he chose a proffession where he would help people.

thanks to this he grew even closer to anya.

anya:

tried to distance herself from the crew, because she felt like dead weight, but they didnt let her. daisuke talked her and curly into therapy.

she couldnt afford to try to get into med school again, and even then, she wasnt sure if she even wanted to do that anymore.

but, due to his disability, curly needed a notetaker and, well. the stars just aligned.

being his notetaker, anya gets to attend all the lectures with curly, helping him with his studies while she absorbs all the knowledge. this gave her the confidence she needed to decide to try again, sometine in the future.

asides from this, anya took up running again. she runs regularly, planning to run a marathon one day. she also gained a lot of weight after coming back, resulting in a mean bulk, gaining quite a lot of muscle.

sometimes she runs together with curly and daisuke, and curly also coaches anya in the gym on occassion.

the whole crew regularly meet up for brunches and birthdays. :)

#mouthwashing #anya mouthwashing #captain curly #curly mouthwashing #daisuke mouthwashing #swansea mouthwashing

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lueurjun · 1 year ago

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neighbours to lovers! jake sim.

neighbour!jake x reader! in which jake sim has been in love with you from the minute he set his eyes on you. thank u so much for your support<3

OKAY LEMME TAKE A MOMENT TO GATHER MYSELF

because NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR JAKE???

WHO HAS BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU SINCE YOU WERE KIDS?

dead. cant breathe.

his family and your family obviously know each other well

and i see his house as being ‘the spot’ during your childhood where all the neighbourhood kids used to play

he had these monkey bars in his backyard that everyone always wanted to play on

but jake always made sure you got to go on them first

#whipped

#nineyearoldrizz

brace yourselves

are you braced?

i’m not sure you’re braced

… HE WAS YOUR FIRST KISS

i know!! so cute right?

fighting back tears rn

you were only eleven so you didn’t really think much of it. he was your first kiss and you were fine with that

jake on the other hand?

he still thinks about it

in fact, that’s one of the scenarios he thinks of to help him get to sleep

boy is hopelessly in love

and everyone knows it too

like he denies it but everyone just knows

because he will drop anything just to do you the smallest favour

“hey jake, are you busy? i could really use your help watering my parents flowers?”

jake, who is in fact busy, “nope. not at all. never. give me that watering can.”

i repeat: w h i p p e d

cant blame him tho. you’re the embodiment of warmth, the personification of excellence. you are simply amazing.

i got more rizz that jake just sayin… ;D

despite knowing you for so long, he still gets all tongue tied whenever you’re around

and you’re just clueless

a perfect little dumbass

no matter how many times your family and friends — and even HIS family and friends — try to tell you, you’re convinced he’s just being friendly

because boys like jake don’t like people like you

you’re not enough for him. and he’s certainly not attracted to you

keep thinking like that. i dare u. i’m outside of your house. ur perfect! MWAH MWAH. take all my love pls

in true neighbours to lovers fashion, your bedroom window faces his

#youbelongwithmecore

and sometimes like the little creep that you are, you peek inside of his room to see if he’s there

unbeknownst to you, little jakey poo does the exact same thing

soulmates fr

twins asf

people that creep on each other, end up with each other

i do not condone staring into your crushes bedroom. do not do that. you may get arrested… but if you do send me your mug shot, i bet u look adorable! KIDDING IM TOTALLY KIDDING PLS DONT GET ARRESTED

anywhooo, one particular night you peek into his room

at the exact same time as him

cue that spiderman meme where they’re just pointing at each other

you both just kinda freeze

staring at each other

because now what? you’ve both caught each other out

eventually, you shuffle forward and open your window which coaxes jake to do the same

the confidence comes naturally because it’s only jake, you know him like the back of your hand

tho ur screaming on the inside because a) you’re embarrassed and b) JAKE WAS STARING INTO YOUR ROOM WHICH MEANS HE WAS LOOKING FOR YOU

it’s almost like he’s in love with u or sumn idk

“are you stalking me, sim?”

his cheeks go bright red and he kinda starts spluttering

“i—no. i promise i wasn’t—i-“

well. that was disappointing. you kinda hoped he’d keep up with your flirty banter

“it’s okay jake, i was doing the same thing.”

honest icon. you truly can do no wrong

even more spluttering. even more blushing

because YOU???? WERE WATCHING HIM??

bro loves stalkers. IM KIDDING ILY

anyways there’s something about the atmosphere

and to jake, it just seems right to say what’s on his mind

which leads to him sitting with his feet hanging out of the window and the darkest shade of red on his cheeks

“i still think about that kiss.”

did u hear me scream?

your mind goes blank

because what tf does that mean?

the kiss?? THE KISS? THE FIRST KISS???

HE STILL THINKS ABOUT THAT???

he can’t look you in the eyes, choosing to fiddle with his fingers instead

and you just stand there dumbfounded

bby talk to him before i lose my mind

when you don’t say anything, jake scrambles back into his room which kinda snaps you out of your trance

his fingers are itching to close the window

“i’m kinda upset that you’ve never come back for seconds”

i literally have a lambo and nine mansions

marry me rn

now it’s jakes turn to be speechless

bro is FLABBERGASTED

“oh.” 🧍🏻

“oh?”

“oh.”

this is painful. it’s 5:30 am rn cut me some slack

you have this poor boy breaking out into a rash from stress

and it worsens when you grab your coat and demand for him to meet you outside

like the true gentleman, he doesn’t leave you waiting long and almost falls flat on his face trying to get through the door

what a loser. i love him

he shuffles towards you, hands in his pockets and a look that says he’s absolutely terrified

are you gonna slap him? tell him you never want him to speak to you again?

“look, i’m sorry if i overstepped—“

“are you gonna give me my kiss i’ve been waiting for or not?“

it’s then that he notices that you’re both in the exact same spot as you were all those years ago when the first kiss happened

literally giggling and kicking my feet rn

“a-are you sure?”

and those are the exact words he uttered the first time too

he was as nervous as he was back then, perhaps even more so this time around

because this isn’t an innocent childhood kiss

you’re grown now. it’s different

in true y/n fashion, you start to lose patience

so you trust your gut and you grip onto his shirt, tugging him closer giving you the perfect chance to collide your lips with his

jake’s hands waft around in stress until they finally settle on your waist and he gains enough confidence to pull you somewhat closer to him

i don’t want a boyfriend. i don’t want a boyfriend. i don’t want a boyfriend.

the kiss is a thousand times better than the first

it's passionate and sentimental, full of longing and tenderness. it’s everything and more.

pulling away is almost a chore as you rest your head against his.

“i could get used to that.”

jake goes to respond, a breathless chuckle ghosts your lips when suddenly a wolf whistle cuts through the street

“AYO JAY OWS ME 20! I KNEW HE’D GROW SOME BALLS EVENTUALLY”

sunghoon, the neighbour across the street who also happens to be jake’s best friend, is leaning out of his window.

that definitely should have ruined the moment but you were far too wrapped up in the bliss of having jake so close to you, that nothing could ruin the happiness you felt

not even sunghoon and his idiocy.

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propertyofrjl · 1 year ago

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i’ve always had a problem with ages in MCD, they don’t makes sense (ik it’s cause at the start the npc’s aged quicker and stuff, but let’s fix one of the main ones that confuses me) Brian.

so first of all, i don’t think Brian is Dales son, Brian is darker skinned than both dale and molly, so what if he has a different dad. molly didn’t cheat, oh no, Brian is simply a child from a past relationship (i’m about to dump this head canon on all y’all so buckle up)

i think our dear sweet Molly is from O’kasis, she a very religious person, dedicated to Irene, and O’kasis is a very religious city, it makes sense. now i can see Molly being kinda poor while living in O’kasis, not the best support system, this is where she meets and “falls in love” with this guy, he’s a criminal and he’s trouble.

Molly’s probs like “i can fix him” when in fact what he does is breaks her. he’s abusive both physically and emotionally, and does what he wants no matter what she says. and Molly doesn’t fight back because she thinks this is punishment for something.

but then molly finds out she’s pregnant, and there is no way in hell she will raise this baby with a man like this guy, so in the dead of night she sneaks out with a small bag of treasured items, maybe a change of clothes, and that’s it. she finds her way to Nahkara village before stowing away to Scaleswind (the birth place/home of Irene, of course she’d be drawn to it)

she arrives and with the help of some kind strangers she settles in a small home, she has Brian and makes a living helping the elderly neighbour with his chicken farming, telling anyone who asks that Brian’s father passed away leaving her a widow (both o’kasis and scaleswind seem like places that would frown upon premarital sex) so Brian grows up thinking his dad was a good person who died (he most def sees the elderly neighbour they help as a grandfather)

then when Brian is around 8 or 9, Molly’s out one evening giving the chickens their last feed of the day when she sees a wagon coming into the city, there sitting with the reigns in his hand is her ex partner, Brian’s dad, and she me never felt more terrified. she runs inside and locks herself and her son indoors. that’s the day Brian finds out that his father his an abusive cruel man, and it causes anger to bubble up inside, anger at his dad for being that way, angry at his mum for lying, angry at himself for being a product of someone who hurt others.

with the help of the old neighbour they yet again, slip out of the city walls under nightfall. an old merchant on his way to bright port offers them a ride, but Molly is worried about going to another well populated town, but the merchant explains he has to stop off at a small village before bright port, it’s sounds perfect. so on to the wagon her and Brian get.

it’s daybreak of the 3rd day travelling when they arrive at this tiny little village of Phoenix Drop. and with the kindness of the lords wife’s (Matilda was always willing to take in ppl in need) they had a home. They were shown to their new house and around the village by a kindly guard (DALE) and with that they started their new lives.

when aphmau comes along she still sets up Molly and Dale (who’ve been smitten with each other for years now) at first Brian is excited cause he’s got a new dad, but then Dale starts going on and on and on about guard academy, Brian’s happy to go, but when he gets there he meets another student who’s got a step parent, only the step parent sent this kid away to get rid of them. this gets Brian thinking, and the more he talks to this kid the more it sticks in his head that Dale is doing the same thing (when really Dale is just so happy to have a son and wants to share being a guard with him too) and then when Brian comes home and finds his mother expecting a baby it’s like a moment of solidified acceptance, that Dale was trying to get rid of him and it worked.

then when Brian is arrested for betraying everyone, molly and dale visit him, Molly can’t stop crying no matter how much Brian pleads with her to not cry, but she can’t and so she walks out with Alexis in her arms. Dale is left looking at his son with a blank expression. Brian turns to his “father” coldly, spitting how Dale finally got what he wanted, a family without Brian.

and then Dale let’s out a dry sob which catches Brian’s attention. and Dale apologies to HIM. “if i ever made you think you were unwanted in this family, then i failed as a father…i’m so sorry my boy”

and Dale’s always called Brian his boy, but it hits so much harder in that moment because it’s the spark that ignited the copious amounts of doubt Brian begins to feel, that maybe all these years he was wrong, that Dale did in fact want him after all.

…

ANGST

#my poor pookies #angst #aphmau mcd #aphmau #aphmau minecraft diaries #molly and dale #minecraft diaries #mcd #mystreet

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jourke-rourke · 8 months ago

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some assorted insights I have gained from analyzing the wanted posters shown at various points throughout the show: (this is gonna be mega-long as i am allergic to concision. to be fair I did issue a clear warning about inflicting text posts on everybody)

from episode 1. One and Three are listed as having the same height and weight (both 6'0" and 210 pounds).

who do they think they are kidding. I do not buy this for either of them

unless they weighed Boone while he was carrying multiple holstered guns. Which, y'know, maybe.

I can buy 6'1" and 210 pounds for Six, but uh. What's up with the race there?

African American? My man is not from Earth. He doesn't even know what planet America is on

ALSO Jones and Boone have the same NCIC number. This might be a mistake on the showrunners' part but I think a funnier interpretation is that the GA just never bothered to assign his fake persona a real number so they just copy-pasted Boone's

Alternatively maybe it is actually Jones' and there's a weird glitch in Boone's GA profile where it just displays other people's ID numbers. supporting evidence is this shot from S3 where he inexplicably has Ryo's ID number (while Portia doesn't get her number listed at all)

this is from the blink drive scientist in the past who downloaded the GA database. fun fact: since Portia is in prison clothes but Boone does not yet have terrorism added to his charge list, it seems that the scientist left for the past at some point during S2. neat!

Also both Boone and Portia have a note on their profile that says 'not permitted to carry weapons or firearms under any circumstances.'

yeah, good luck with that one.

getting into charges (these are all S1):

for some reason Jones is never charged with terrorism despite the fact that he is an undercover agent and they could literally charge him with anything they want, it's not like they'll have to prove it.

he was literally part of a terrorist cell and instrumental in bombing 10,000 people. why was he never charged with terrorism.

also can you imagine being the poor merc who gets knocked off the 10 most wanted list in favor of an undercover cop's secret identity created to fool like four people. your rep would never recover

Corso is the only one with a trafficking charge, which I assume refers to human trafficking. I'm gonna be real, I'm amazed Boone hasn't scored one of those by now, given that we see main universe Boone exactly twice and both times he immediately attempts to sell the first person he sees into slavery. maybe he's just never been successful but is really gunning for that so he can fill out the fifth charge slot on his most wanted poster with something cool.

Boone does get a kidnapping charge, which I'd wager is probably from his old crew, since 'snatch kids to blackmail parents' seems to be their M.O.

this one's from S2E11, 'wish I'd spaced you when I had the chance.'

They finally got Ryo's name right! It was still under Tetsudo when he was arrested so I assume when Misaki showed up she was like 'hey man you know that's not his name right?' and the GA folks updated it

Nyx just has theft, assault, and fraud charges, none of which seem to warrant imprisonment in the most maximum security facility in the galaxy, so I'm assuming she was sent there because she kept beating people up in min sec

Also, damn, Two is really racking up the charges. New extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, and corporate espionage. Wow.

However, she has inexplicably been cleared of the piracy charge. Absolutely no idea what's going on there.

I'm assuming kidnapping is from when she snatched Tabor, and armed robbery is basically a normal Tuesday for them so whatever.

The corporate espionage and extortion could theoretically be old charges- the wanted posters list charges in descending severity, with violent crimes first, so it's possible they just got left off for space purposes

But I think corporate espionage is actually related to when they snuck into Dwarf Star to steal the nanites

Also, that's such a cool crime. Five would probably be wildly jealous if she knew Two had gotten an espionage charge. Five definitely deserves one with all the hacking she's done

theoretically Six and Three could also earn that charge since they did the same stuff as Two. We never find out if Six was charged with it.

I can't put subtitles on this or make it into an actual gif but the robot reads his list of charges as murder, assault, kidnapping, piracy, and terrorism.

Hey, he finally filled out that fifth slot on his wanted poster!

He might also have a corporate espionage charge (if so, lucky him) that the robot left off for concision (couldn't be me)

That said, the terrorism charge raises its own set of questions. Or mostly one question, which is 'why is he the only one who got charged with it'

Obviously it's from the white hole bomb, but why didn't Two or Four get charged with it? My best guess is maybe Three was visible on security footage somewhere, or in the memory stores of the male android if the GA got access to those? Or maybe just left his DNA at the scene since he got bloodied fighting the Android while the others (except Five) were elsewhere. God only knows and he has not deemed to share his secrets with me

and for a final note we're going back to lovely Five!

she's not on the 10 most wanted list but she does still get an actual wanted poster, so score

that said. uh. as previously established, crimes are supposedly listed in descending order of severity

so this shot implies that out of all the sketchy shit Das did, while illegally stowing away on a space station, hacking into restricted areas, and surviving through thievery and pickpocketing for literal years. of all the things she did.

the crime that the GA is most concerned about

is truancy

can you imagine being such a notorious criminal that you get your own actual wanted poster that cops all over the galaxy are expected to study and know your face. and the primary thing that you are charged with is truancy. if i was her I'd be pissed

'ah. yes. the most wanted criminals in the galaxy: mercenaries, murderers, space pirates, terrorists, and also this random teenager who hasn't shown up for class in like four years. we have got to get this terrifying criminal off the streets ASAP.'

anyways nobody at the GA appreciates Five's diversified criminal portfolio. charge her with espionage, cowards. she'll be thrilled.

#if you spot anything I didn't please share #dark matter #dark matter syfy #analysis #rourke og #i miss my computer so bad guys. cant even make a proper gif #also I can't do my actual job but what's Really important is how it impacts my dark matter posts #s2 spoilers

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abbyholmes · 2 years ago

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Ok. I saw THE episode.

Whoa.

Best episode of the Season so far. Maybe one of the show’s overall best. What I loved:

- The way Buck is once again amazing at calming down two scared children. I mean I‘m not a parent-y Person, but that man is so Dad-shaped it melts my heart.

- May and Athena undercover!!! I was LIVING for May‘s sarcastic addict performance. She clearly has her mom‘s investigation-genes. And I love that they are supporting Bobby in investigating his sponsor‘s death.

- I still hate the Buckley Parents but I do like that there is some kind of progress. Don‘t get me wrong I think cutting ties with bad parents is totally legit and I hope Maddie and Buck always Keep them at an arm‘s lenght. But I do like that there seems to be some kind of healing going on and I hope it will bring Maddie and Buck more peace of mind in the long run. (Bobby and Athena are still Buck‘s parents and the 118 is his found family, Zero doubts there.)

- Albert being back!!! Even though I wish he hadn‘t brought his dad. But maybe it will be good for Chim to finally tell his father how angry and hurt he really is.

- Buck‘s smile after his conversation with Maddie on a world where Daniel hadn‘t died. It was so short and yet had so many layers. Buck looks so content in this moment. As if, yes, life isn‘t perfect and his biological family is Even further from perfect, but he has Maddie and Chim and his niece and his 118 family and life is good anyway. Idk the smile did something to my heart.

- Mom-Hen. I just like her. And I hope Danny comes clean about his Dad soon and they can find a good patchwork solution that works for everyone and makes Danny feel happy, loved and protected.

- Hen saying That Karen Lobes surprises but the definitely does not. (Same, Hen. Same.)

- Athena worrying about Bobby. I just love those two so much.

- Buck offering to listen to Bobby and really actively being there for him. It is just the essence of Buck and I‘m so here for it.

- THE. CHILLI. CONVERSATION. I mean…it had me smirk with tears in my eyes. Peak Television. They are father and son, your honor. (And I prefer to put very dark chocolate in my Chilli instead of coacoa powder. But you do you, Bobby.)

- The way the pregnant Woman on the Uber was hilarious before the Crash. I love me some light-Heartedness in the darkness.

-And then: All the foreshadowing in the episode. Buck going up instead of Chimney. ‚Go get them, Cowboy‘. ‚What is that?‘ (A THUNDERSTORM, you adorable dumbass), THE SILENCE After Buck gets hit by lightning. Eddie struggling back to his feet. Buck dangling up there. The disbelief on everyone‘s faces. Eddie screaming Buck‘s name in growing desperation. ‚Come here, kid‘, Chimney forgetting Medical facts because this is Buck and Buck can‘t be in cardiac Arrest, ‚Eddie, You’re driving‘, Eddie’s desperate ‚Talk to me, Buck!‘ (IS THIS ANOTHER TOP GUN REFERENCE After ‚you can have my back anyday- or you know, you could have mine’? Is this a ‚Talk to me, Goose‘?!? I HAVE QUESTIONS), the immense shooting / Eddie trapped Below the ground Parallels!!!

- Stellar Performances all around!

This Episode has WRECKED me. My Heart hurt so much for Buck and for all of them. I am seriously worried for Bobby. It‘s going to be so difficult for him. A Part of me hopes That there might be some Buddie-Realization on the Horizon for both Eddie and Buck. (I love them both as bffs and as a ship and I think both interpretations are equally valid even though I would prefer a Potential bisexual slowburn on a popular Show actually becoming canon).

I am excited to See how Eddie will Deal with his emotions. How the Team, Maddie and Athena will Support each other through this. Who will sit watch at Buck‘s side. What Cheistopher will say. If Eddie will Talk to Coma-Buck and be angry with hin for Not Waking up. What Coma-Buck will experience. It‘s…the storyline is so sad and so intriguing and has so many layers. 911 did it again and I love it.

I‘m so glad Fox already gave us some pictures of Oliver still being on Set. I would have seriously worried if they are going to kill Buck otherwise.

#911 spoilers #911 speculation #911 on fox #911onfox #911 tv show #911 season 6 episode 10 #911 season 6 #911 s6b #911 s6e10 #evan buckley #evan buck buckely #buddie #I LOVE THOSE CHARACTERS ALL SO MICH LORD HELP ME

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golden--doodler · 2 years ago

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Doodler! Random ask but what are your favorite bobs burgers character dynamics :D?

Yooooooooooo back at it again with your perfect, perfect asks 👌🏼

I'm really glad you asked this one because I've actually thought about this before.

My first one absolutely has to be Bob and Gene. Despite the fact that Gene is technically more similar to Linda in personality and has been shown on numerous occasions to favor her, he is also shown to love Bob a lot too and even says in "Sliding Bobs" that he's always admired Bob. I mean 🥺. AND HE LITERALLY ALWAYS THINKS OF THE RESTAURANT AS BEING CALLED "DAD'S BURGERS" I MEAN-And Bob has been shown to care for Gene as well, even if his "favorite" is probably Louise or Tina (I say "favorite" because Bob is too nice and too good of a parent to actually have a favorite kid). Every time they interact in a nice way, it makes my heart feel full, because they don't understand each other as much, but want to make an effort to try. I mean, Bob's entire speech about loving to feed Gene killed me, and their sharing a meal during the end credits had me giggling and kicking my feet. Oh, and finally their interactions during the "Laser-Inth" definitely show off their dynamic the best. I will never get over the "I love you too, Gene! :D"

Oh, also bonus, because I can't stop thinking of cute moments with these two is during "The Hauntening", when Gene, despite the fact that he knew the entire thing was a trick and he wasn't in any real danger, still felt the need to tell Bob that Bob was doing great as a dad and giving him a good childhood. I'm sure Bob appreciated that a ton.

I also love it every time Linda and Sergeant Bosco interact. They don't interact often, but whenever they do, it's great 11/10. These two are already kinda chaotic forces by themselves, but together, their chaos is pumped up to the max, and it almost feels like they're collectively sharing two brain cells, and I love it. This is probably best shown in "I've Got a Psy-Chic Out of You", with Linda having to help out Bosco on a case before realizing she doesn't have psychic powers after all. It's hilarious, especially when they break for lunch. And then there's that time in "My Fuzzy Valentine" when Bosco almost arrested Linda for impulsively taking his gun, I can't. This man was extremely ready to take her in. These two need to talk more because their conversations are absolute gold. Wonder what would've happened if they'd talked during the movie somehow.

Obviously, I have to say Bob and Linda because they're Bob and Linda. I've already said so much about them, so I'll keep this as brief as I can, but they are perfection. They support each other, love each other unconditionally, and Linda was willing to freaking work on her wedding day for her man. I like to imagine what their actual ceremony was like, and if they had vows. I hope they did because my heart. These two need to get their vows renewed during an episode or something, that would make me scream. Anyway, I love how they're both weirdos who found each other, and Bob had a dream Linda continues to adore and admire to this day. A lot say that Linda's the strange one, and it's true that she's more outgoing and eccentric, but Bob is just as strange with his habit of talking to inanimate objects, and let's not forget some of those moments where he's gone completely unhinged in the earlier seasons, like when he got trapped in the crawlspace. They balance each other out perfectly and know about every single one of each other's quirks. I love how in one episode, Linda just casually mentions Bob has a weird birthmark or something in his, well... you know. They're just so intimately familiar with each other and not afraid to admit it, which is a beautiful thing. Time and time again they make sacrifices, because no, their relationship is not one-sided. As much as Linda has sacrificed for Bob and the restaurant, Bob has done just as much for her--he even gets angry for her when people aren't treating her correctly, such as in "Terminilator II: Terminals of Endearment", when he had that whole speech about how her parents being terrible should bother her. He reciprocates most of what he gets, and when he doesn't, he acknowledges it and tries to be better, like in the emotional climax of the movie when he realizes how tiring it must be for Linda to be optimistic all the time and he decides he'll be more optimistic as well. They also never question how much the other loves them. There's absolutely no chance of either of them cheating or being swayed by someone else in any meaningful way, and they know it. There's only a problem if they think someone else will come on them and not stop, like in "Seaplane!". Okay, so this wasn't brief, but I have way too many feelings about these two. They will always be everything to me. We need a flashback episode or scene about their wedding or something pronto.

I just think Jimmy Jr. and Zeke's friendship is really wholesome. I don't have that much to say about them, because of how chill they are whenever they're around each other. They just get each other and their humor, which is wonderful. If Zeke wants to randomly pin Jimmy Jr. to the floor for some playful wrestling, there's no issue. They're always there to support each other no matter what, like when Zeke was willing to keep throwing chicken nuggets at Jimmy Jr. in the movie because he wanted to say he caught a chicken nugget in his mouth. I can't. I keep saying this, but I hope we see more of them interact and just be themselves.

Every time Louise and Regular-Sized Rudy interact, it's guaranteed to be a wholesome time. I love how they balance each other out. Rudy brings out Louise's softer side, whilst Louise helps Rudy be more confident in himself and stand up for himself. Louise being so jealous of Chloe Barbash in "Bob, Actually" was hilarious, especially because of her denial. Also, there's been a huge wave of people shipping her with Chloe which is... interesting.

Anyway, these two are great for each other, and I will always love it whenever they interact and just vibe. I still love how protective Louise is over him, and he's definitely the person (or at least one of the people) that she's nicest too, especially at school, so I find that wonderful.

These are all the ones I'm going to say for now, but this was so much fun to do. This is way too long (again) but honestly, at this point, that's to be expected from me.

#bobs burgers #asks #thank you again for your perfect asks #this was so much fun #i always hyperfixate on character dynamics you don't understand #bob and gene are everything honestly #saw a couple compilations of them and it made me go 🥺

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protected-and-loved-by-castiel · 2 months ago

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The Narcissist that we lay next to every night, NPD parent we had, or overly toxic, sabotaging narc friend we know is an imposter. Unless you lucked out and somehow met the ONLY transparent Malignant Narcissist, Sociopath, or psychopath on Earth, then Congratulations, you have a pathological liar. Some cases and types are a bit different and worse than the others, but in some level, they aren't "disordered" for no reason. There's no such thing and a completely honest Narcissist or we wouldn't be sitting here in a support group, second dates would of NEVER happened, or no one would have ever gotten conned in a sale, or there would be a lot more arrests, etc. The truth is, most of us were totally shocked and appalled when we saw the real them and we're traumatized by the contrast in treatment when they let go of that mask they tailor made just for you. We found that we didn't truly know our parents, lovers, kids, or neighbor at all! The world never made sense and still doesn't, so we find ourselves, understandably, in denial. You may find that...

1. They had a whole universe and PAST you had ZERO clue about. They conceal past marriages, felonies, court records, actual amount or children they have, SA records, Ass@*lT records, prison sentences, DV records, ch**d crimes, past relationships, and MUCH more from you. You may never of even heard of half or any or it and are shocked when a blast from the past contacts you and was convinced they were crazy by them so you would overlook It.

2. Or you were done wrong and when you went to contact someone to warn THEM, YOU were shut down and dismissed as you were already smeared and made to be the crazy person,and you now had to watch the new supply be used and had no power to change it so you had to leave it alone, Watching them destroy someone else in the process and them get away with it, yet again.

The injustice can be pretty harrowing and frustrating to see again. We have to protect ourselves from being reused all over again and lied to. Hoover attempts are just drive byes to see if your still, "stupid" to the Narcissist. Displays are only lies to draw you back in, remember that. Nothing is absolutely openly the truth or as it appears with The Narcissist, as they cannot even be honest with themselves. So take heed of the fact there is a whole another life before you, a string of broken hearts, fake futures, abandoned children, duped spouses, and much worse, crimes against them all in a lot of cases. They will never admit it, even with proof. It will never be their fault and they are the victim. You will be perpetrator number 9112 on their list to the next victims and so on, if they even admit they even knew you at all. Moral of the story, NO ONE makes it out Special to them.

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mesillusionssousecstasy · 2 years ago

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THE IDOL 1x04: Quotes

“- You were right about this guy. He’s a bad muthafucka. (Destiny) - How bad? (Chaim) - Bad to the fuckin’ bone. His name is Mauricio Costello Jackson. (Destiny) - What is he, Italian? (Chaim) - Nah, he’s not Italian. He’s got ghetto-ass parents that thought that was suave or some shit. That’s beside the point. 2012, he got arrested. This motherfucker kidnapped his ex-girlfriend, held her hostage for three days, and beat the living shit out of her. (Destiny) - Oh, come on. (Chaim) - I’m talkin’ about torture. (Destiny) - God, D. How the fuck did she let this guy in? (Chaim) - I have no fuckin’ clue. I thought she only fucked white boys.” (Destiny)

“- I like not having to make decisions for myself. (Jocelyn) - Why? (Tedros) - Because I trust you. (Jocelyn) - You should make that the opening lyric to the song.” (Tedros) “- Listen, I know you not askin’ for my advice or nothin’, but can I make a suggestion? (Destiny) - Please. (Chaim) - I think we should kill this motherfucker. (Destiny) - No. (Chaim) - Whatchu mean no? (Destiny) - We’re not killin’ anybody, D. (Chaim) - Why not? You gettin’ fuckin’ soft? Don’t be no fuckin’ pussy, Chaimy, come one! (Destiny) - All right, here’s what we’re gonna do.” (Chaim)

“- You know what they call people like you? (Destiny) - Crocodiles? (Chloé) - Pure hearts. You’re real. This business is a crazy, corrupt fuckin’ place. Don’t let nothing... Do you hear me? No one or anything get in the way of your gift. ‘Cause it is pure and it is beautiful. And the moment that voice gets out to the world, there’ll be a lotta people that’s gonna wanna take it. But you can’t let ‘em ‘cause what you got is special. You stay true to that crocodile song. ‘Cause that’s you. Stay observant. If it feels wrong, it’s wrong. Okay? Promise me. (Destiny) - Yeah, I promise. (Chloé)

“- Welcome. Welcome to Magistrate Records.” (Nikki)

“- Chaimy? There is some kinky-ass shit in this house. This shit is weird, scary shit. (Destiny) - Really? (Chaim) - Yeah. And Jocelyn’s on some weird-ass fuckin’ S&M shit with this dude? Shit is wild.” (Destiny) “- Honestly, I just think it’s really fucked up that we’re all just sitting around watching Jocelyn get assaulted. (Leia) - Assaulted? (Izaak) - Yeah. And no one is saying anything. Like, Destiny isn’t saying anything. I don’t know where Chaim is. Like, they’re all letting this psychopath exploit her because... Sorry, but he is. Just so that they can make money? Like, all of these people say that it’s their job to take care of her, but they don’t really care. (Leia) - Okay. I know his methods could seem odd to outsiders, but it’s his process. (Izaak) - Yeah. I think that it’s great, but I don’t think that it’s, like... I don’t think it’s worth. (Leia) - You know, Tedros always says there’s two types of people: the ones that support you and the ones that are obstacles. (Izaak) - So, am I one of the obstacles? (Leia) - Are you? (Izaak) - Honestly, Izaak, I’m just really scared for her right now. He’s doing mind control on her or something.... (Leia) - Mind control? (Izaak) - Yeah! He’s, like, using her in front of other people like she’s not even a human being. (Leia) - Well, she’s not a human being. She’s a star. And stars belong to the world.” (Izaak)

“- Okay, now, listen, I’ve been here a week now. Let me just break it down to you, alright? There’s about three to five kids in here, crazy talented. Listen, Tedros is Tedros. I’m not even trying to change that man. All I’m doin’ is observing. You know what I mean? I wanna watch him and see how he moves, so I know how to manage.” (Destiny)

“- Dyanne, we don’t do this. We don’t just find people on the street and give them deals that will forever alter the course of their life. In fact, I can’t think of a single time we’ve ever done this. Have we? (Nikki) - No. - But what it is, is we see something in you. It’s special. And it’s not just your talent, it’s your work ethic. So, here’s what we can offer you. We want your first song to be “World Class Sinner”. The couple of takes we did at the end of the other day, that was all we needed to convince everyone. So we just need to have record the vocals, and it’s all yours. You will have access to every division and every person in every division of our company. That means we oversee your record, we pair you with the top producers in the industry, you’ll have features on all the major streaming platforms, bumpy in the algorithm, a full team of legal support at your back, merchandise : your face on t-shirts, multi-million-dollar marketing campaigns, access to the best venues across the globe. That means world tour.” (Nikki)

“- Hi. How are you? Absolutely, I mean, you’re only human, right? (Talia) - Yeah. It’s funny, I feel like people keep saying that to me as if I’m not. No, I don’t think anybody’s concerned about the tour. I think it’s always concerning when somebody that you love is in a state of distress.” (Jocelyn)

“- Does anybody know the meaning of the word “family”? It’s not a child and its mother. No, that’s “domus”, the root of the word “domestic”. The root of the word “family” is “famulus”. “Famulus” means “servant”. It is our duty to serve our family. (Tedros)

“- Why don’t you sing anymore? So, you’re either fully healed or you’re lying. (Tedros) - What else did Jocelyn tell you? (Xander) - Do you know why I use this? (Tedros) - No. (Xander) - It’s to unlock people. To find out what’s in their heart. (Tedros) - Tedros, can I talk to you for a second? (Xander) - I don’t think he deserves this. (Jocelyn) - He fucking betrayed you. (Tedros) - Yeah, but this feels a little extreme. (Jocelyn) - Extreme? You wanna know what’s extreme? My servitude. My devotion to you. On Earth and in heaven. All you have to do is tell me if he’s lying. (Tedros) - Leave me the fuck alone. (Xander) - Shut the fuck up! (Head) - Let me go. (Xander) - Stop fucking moving or I’ll throw you down the fucking stairs! (Head) - I like you. (Tedros) - Fuck you. (Xander) - No, I do. I really do. I just don’t trust you. I think you lie. (Tedros) - I don’t lie. (Xander) - Why didn’t you tell anyone that her mother was humiliating her and beating her? (Tedros) - She asked me not to fucking tell anyone, so I didn’t. (Xander) - That’s not fucking true, Xander. (Jocelyn) - You told me that her mom made you fuckin’ sign a contract that you couldn’t fucking sing ever again. Did you not? (Tedros) - Her mom didn’t fucking like that I was a good singer or some shit, so she fucking... (Xander) - Made you sign a fucking contract? (Tedros) - Yeah. (Xander) - What the fuck did you say? (Jocelyn) - I said the fucking truth, Jocelyn. (Xander) - Yes, it... (Xander) - What the fuck is wrong with you. ((Jocelyn) - Tedros, please don’t shock me for one second, okay? Please. You don’t understand the fucking years that this bitch has taken from me, the fucking career that I could’ve had, the life that I could’ve had. (Xander) - He’s lying. ((Jocelyn) - She fucking controls everything around her and everyone. And now she’s doing it to you. You took everything from me. (Xander) - You’ve lived in my fucking house since you were 14. You used me for all my fucking worth and now you’re lying to my fucking face about it. (Jocelyn) - I’m not fucking lying, you stupid bitch! (Xander) - You are fucking lying. (Jocelyn) - Tell the fucking truth, Xander. (Tedros) - You’re more fucking disgusting, fucked up, and depraved than your bitch cunt of a mother! (Xander) - Shock him again. (Jocelyn) - Please, just don’t fucking shock me again.” (Xander)

“- Baby, I feel like you need to get a little bit of sleep. (Jocelyn) - All I’m saying is show the world a little bit more of what you got.” (Destiny)

“- So, how much do you know about, like, his past? (Destiny) - We, you know, we’re still getting to know each other and stuff. (Jocelyn) - I can’t help but continue to notice his tats. (Destiny) - Oh, yeah. I mean, he’s been to prison like a couple times. (Jocelyn) - Okay, so you know they’re prison tats? (Destiny) - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. (Jocelyn) - And he told you he went to prison? (Destiny) - Yeah, but he’s, like, really sensitive about it. He doesn’t really like talking about it with a lotta people. He had this fucking crazy, like, ex-girlfriend. (Jocelyn) - Okay. (Destiny) - And they used to fight a lot. They had this, like, really tumultuous relationship. And there was this one time where I guess, they were, like, fighting, and I guess he choked her. (Jocelyn) - Who choked who? (Destiny) - Well, I don’t think he choked... They were, like, getting in a fight, you know.... (Jocelyn) - He choked her? (Destiny) - He held, ya know... He just was tryna, like, fend her off, I think. And she punched him in the face and I guess he hit her back, ya know? But like self-defense kinda thing. The girl kinda made it seem like he had punched her first. (Jocelyn) - I mean, at some point, though, he did hit her, right? (Destiny) - But he was just trying to, like, defend himself. And then this girl came out and was like “He hit me”, and everything, and, like, made it this whole thing like he had abused her, ya know?” And then, there was just this, like, group of girls that he was working with as, like, artists. (Jocelyn) - A work situation? (Destiny) - Yeah. And they were trying to, like, extort him for money. And so, they kinda like all got together and they went to the cops and they told the cops that he was, like, their pimp. And then he went to prison for, like, six years. (Jocelyn) - Okay.” (Destiny)

“- You know, Tedros was talking about your voice. He said it’s stronger than ever. I’m gonna let you go ‘cause Tedros believes in you, but you need to do something for him.” (Izaark)

“- You wanna sell tickets, right? You gotta go public. (Tedros) - With what? (Jocelyn) - My earliest memory, when I was three years old was of my mother beating me with a hairbrush. And for 22 years, she physically and emotionally abused me every day. And I also wanna make a promise to you, to all of you, that I’m not gonna let the trauma of my past affect the person that I wanna be moving forward. And, I promise you, there is a new Jocelyn coming.” (Jocelyn)

“- Wait, are you actually mad about what just happened? (Tedros) - She doesn’t fucking like you. Why would she like you?” (Jocelyn) - Jocelyn. When Tedros told Dyanne to bring you to the club, she didn’t think he would have sex with you.” (Chloé)

“- Nikki asked me to step in and perform “World Class Sinner”. And I just signed with Magistrate, and she wants me to have “World Class Sinner” as my first single. (Dyanne) - Oh, wow. (Jocelyn) - But I didn’t say yes. I said I would ask you first. I know it was your song. (Dyanne) - Congratulations. That’s crazy. I mean, that’s a huge opportunity and I’m... I would feel awful to stand in the way of that, so, of course. (Jocelyn) - Really? (Dyanne) - You should take it. Yeah, of course. (Jocelyn) - Are you crying? (Dyanne) - Sorry. (Jocelyn) - Why are you crying? (Dyanne) - I’m really happy for you.” (Jocelyn)

“- We can open up, we can get personal if you take a hit of this. (Tedros) - Really get to know one another? (Destiny) - I’m an open book. That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout, D. (Tedros) - Oh, shit. What the fuck? (Destiny) - What? (Tedros) - Isn’t that Jocelyn’s ex, Rob, over there?” (Destiny)

“- I’m just concerned about you, man. (Rob) - You’re an actor, right? Yeah, every actor I know is a fucking faggot. Doesn’t everybody gotta take it up the ass to get these roles out here?” (Tedros)

“- Mike, we need some music that matches the vibe.” (Tedros)

“- So, what did I do to deserve a text back? (Rob) - You were on my mind. (Jocelyn) - I feel like I never should’ve left. (Rob) - Well, I would’ve resented you for staying. It was too good of an opportunity. (Jocelyn) - If I had to do it all over again, I think that.... (Rob) - You still would’ve gone. And if you hadn’t, I would’ve forced you. (Jocelyn) - Why didn’t you tell me any of this shit? (Rob) - Tell you what? (Jocelyn) - I don’t know, about your mom. The fact that she’d been abusing you all these years. (Rob) - Well, if I’d known you were gonna come over and talk about my mom, I probably wouldn’t have texted you. (Jocelyn) - That actually kind of hurts my feelings. (Rob) - Rob, you’re killing me. (Jocelyn) - You’ve been ignoring me for a month. You changed your phone number and every time I try to call Leia, she says she can’t get ahold of you. (Rob) - I can’t hear a word you’re saying, Rob. Did you say that you care about me or that you love me? I didn’t hear. (Jocelyn) - I said, put some clothes on, you fucking lunatic. (Rob) - You’re no fun.” (Jocelyn) - You know, I bought this outfit to come and meet you in Germany before you fucked your co-star and broke my delicate, little heart. (Jocelyn) - For the record, you’re the one that said it was boring to be monogamous. (Rob) - Well, I take it back. (Jocelyn) - There’s plenty of guys in the world you can have sex with who won’t ask you any questions.” (Rob) - But they’re not you. (Jocelyn) - I actually know you. I have this image of you giving her a bath. You were always so tender with her. I can’t imagine how fucking difficult this must be. It’s just awful. All of it. (Rob) - I promise. I’m in a really good place. (Jocelyn) - You’re such a good place that now you’re throwin’ house parties. In five hours, I have to leave for the press tour. (Rob) - That’s so exciting. (Jocelyn) - Come with me. (Rob) - I wish. (Jocelyn) - The studio gave me a private jet. Come on. (Rob) - I can’t. (Jocelyn) - You know what I love most about you? When you want something you find a way to get it.” (Rob)

“An endless love... I’ve found in you Warm as a fire in everything you do”

#quote #quotes #citation #quotation #the idol hbo #hbo series #hbo the idol #the idol #the idol 1x04 #the idol 1x04 quotes #jocelyn #jocelyn x tedros

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theycallme-thejackal · 2 years ago

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One MidgeLenny x TSwift Fic Per Day

159. closure

It’s the worst fight she’s ever had with Joel.

It’s absurd, really. They’ve been re-divorced for six months. He has a baby on the way. She’s working consistently again, and they’ve been doing the co-parenting thing successfully for a while now.

So it’s a shock when he snaps, “Do you know how much easier my life would be if you would just get out of it?!”

She stares at him for a long moment before turning on her heel and leaving his apartment.

She ignores him shouting after her, “I thought you were taking the kids!” Because while she loves Ethan and Esther, Joel’s words have left her feeling so raw, so defeated, that she can’t be the mother they need at this moment. Tomorrow, maybe, but right now she needs to get as far from Joel and any reminder of him as she possibly can.

Which, unfortunately, also means she can’t go back to her apartment.

She realizes this just as she’s about to raise her arm to flag down a taxi, and her hand stops, falling to her side. She clenches her fists. She wants to scream, to throw things and break down and throw a temper tantrum in the middle of Chinatown.

She ponders going to Imogene’s before remembering she and Archie are visiting family in Iowa. She could go to Susie’s office, but that’s going to be the first place Joel checks.

So she takes a deep breath and walks. She walks until her feet are too tired to keep moving forward, and she realizes she’s ended up at Washington Square Park, the site of the last major breakdown she had the morning after being dumped from the Shy Baldwin tour.

She collapses onto a bench and feels her swollen, blistered feet thank her for the reprieve as she squeezes her eyes closed and starts crying.

She covers her face in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees to support herself while sobs wrack her body. It doesn’t even occur to her to care whether people are staring. Let them. Her ex-husband basically just told her he wishes she was dead, and she’s lonelier than she’s ever been.

A figure casts a shadow over her, and she ignores it until she hears, “Based on your posture, I’m guessing that’s not the show corset.”

She laughs through a sob because of course he’s here, her guardian angel, showing up out of the clear blue. She drops her hands but doesn’t look up. “This one has been officially dubbed the my ex wishes I was dead corset.”

She hears the burning of the end of his cigarette as he inhales. “Yeah, I’ve got a whole drawer of those,” he replies.

He sits next to her, and all she wants is to curl into him, close her eyes, and breathe him in until she forgets everything else around them. But that’s not who they are.

They’re just friends.

“So...” She sniffs, swiping her fingers under her eyes, trying to wipe away her surely fucked makeup before she looks at him. “You’re back.”

“I’m back,” he confirms quietly. “And just in the nick of time, it seems.”

“The nick of time?” She repeats.

Lenny taps the ash from his cigarette and it flutters away in the breeze. “To make sure you’re okay. Legend has it that you tend to get arrested when you’re in a bad mood.”

She scoffs a mirthless laugh. “Well, thank you for rescuing me, then.”

Silence falls, and eventually he passes her his cigarette, almost gone. “Last puff?” He asks.

She turns her head slightly, still unable to meet his gaze, and takes it with trembling fingers, inhaling gratefully when it touches her lips. “Thanks,” she says again.

“You wanna talk about it?”

She slumps back against the bench, her shoulders bumping his arm stretched over the back. He doesn’t move away though. In fact, he adjusts so that his arm is draped over her, and he gently squeezes her shoulder. She shakes her head and whispers, “No, I don’t...”

He nods. “Okay,” he replies softly, and he shifts a little closer so their sides are pressed together. “We can just sit here, then.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” She looks at him cautiously.

His gaze is soft when he says, “You’re more important.”

She blinks quickly as more tears well up in her eyes, and she thumps her head against his shoulder as he soothingly rubs her arm.

#midgelenny #midge x lenny #midgexlenny #tmmm fanfic #marvelous mrs. maisel fanfic #otp: more important than god #jackal fics #mltswift

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captainjacklyn · 3 years ago

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Azul Ashengrotto x Great White Shark!reader AU

This is Part 5 ! I previously edited Part 4 due to being slightly out of my taste, you may now check it out.

The series master list can be found right here loves !

A few people who wished to be tagged : @darkfaethedestroyer @ikemen-lover-story @kawasbaby

Warning(s) : may have some cuss words, angst to comfort and fluff, crying [I have no idea how this is a TW but ok], just happy old friends seeing each other again

Summary : you had finally been released from house arrest and preparing to enter a school once again, the idea of reuniting with your friends made you so happy yet slightly nervous. How will it turn out ?

The love story of a Shark and an Octopus Part 5 :

Monday, the beginning of a school week, the day of your return. You were excited to finally gain contact with the outside world and see azul again. It had been more than a year already and the thought of returning to your old school made you nervous, your eyebrows frowned thinking of how you'll be treated once out of the wall of fear.

Will others be more scared of you than before ? Will they find you repulsive ? Will they hate and torment you until you leave once more ?

Constant doubt kept creeping into your mind as you prepared yourself with the necessities. You knew it was going to feel strange coming back, not only that, the end of this year meant for you to enter a different college. So many changes will happen in only a few months. "[NAAAAAME] ?" your mother/father/guardian called out from outside and you quickly swam out of your room, ready to head out.

You arrived in front of your house where your mother/father/guardian was waiting. They looked rather nervous as you approached them but their gaze softened when they noticed just how optimistic you looked. "Are you...ready ?" nodding your head in confirmation made them smile and they came towards you to, much to your surprise, pull you into an embrace.

You were stunned but then quickly hugged them back. The both of you stayed silent for a while, simply enjoying a small family moment. Once you pulled away, your mother/father/guardian cupped your face, looked into your (e/c) eyes and smiled lovingly. The loving smile was then replaced with one of sorrow and regret as they spoke "I understand how hard it was for you this past year and months, and I'm sorry for not supporting you more when you needed it. I wish..." They paused looking down. "I wish I could've been able to help you sooner...Yet I didn't-..." "Hey." you cut them off and they raised their head.

"No parent is perfect...And besides, we all make mistakes don't we ?" They seemed surprised by your statement, on the other hand, you grinned continuing, "At least I'm still mentally stable !" you said jokingly. Despite the fact that your words were no joking matter, they chuckled eventually bringing their forehead to yours. "Haha..I couldn't ask for a better daughter/son/child !"

You laughed and pulled away from the touching moment. Looking at you one more time before tackling with one more hug, "Please come back safe.." you put your arms around them and answered "...I promise."

"..."

"Now let me go I can't breathe at all" they eventually let go of you and grin widely, "Go get em' !" now you know where that wicked smile of yours came from.

Adding their expression with a smirk of your own, you swam past them but not before yelling out something they'll always remember : "I LOVE YOU OLD HAG/MAN/*insert other nicknames*"

"LANGUAGE [NAME] !" they scolded yet still beaming with happiness. They watched you swim away to your school smiling proudly "that's my girl/boy/kid"

Part 6 can be found here

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phoenixyfriend · 4 years ago

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Commander Buir

Follow-up to this post. Not in any particular order, just spitballing ideas, with contributions from several friends on discord.

Like presumably it takes long enough for them all to meet up again that Anakin and Cody do, in fact, end up treating each other like family, just so I can have that good good "well, guess I'm Dad now" energy. Shmi isn't entirely sure what's going on but she's not a slave anymore and her kid seems to like this rando mando, so.

Anakin gets to have a mom and two dads, though one of the dads is arguably younger than him.

Also when they all meet up again and Cody explains the "General Skywalker got shrunk" thing, there are three reactions: (General) Obi-Wan: Oh, Anakin. Obi-Wan: [gestures to take him, ends up with an armful of clingy padatoddler] Anakin: You can't blame this on me, Obi. Obi-Wan, a little teary, because babies cause emotions: Of course I can, you absurd human being. ------ Rex: That's... my general. Anakin: I am, Captain. Rex: Cool cool cool I'm gonna go stand where I can't, uh, break you. Anakin: I'm not THAT fragile! ------ Ahsoka: [gasp] Skyguy is SKYKID! Anakin: Padawan, this is-- Ahsoka, grabbing him and cuddling: Oh my goodness you're adorable this is the best day ever. Anakin: This is humiliating, Snips, put me down. Ahsoka: Never.

Anakin hates being a toddler because of the lack of independence but Cody keeps picking him up when he's cranky and just holding him until he falls asleep and that's... nice.......

- The brain limitations aren't quite as bad as the situation with Sokanth and Ylliben in the other AU, but - Even if his brain is mostly adjusted he’s still got a tiny body with different needs that he’s not used to. Like, he needs to sleep more but he’s got more energy than usual when he’s awake and it’s all weird.

Cody carrying around toddler Anakin like "God you give me ulcers but you're adorable, you little shit."

Inconveniently tiny body aside, Anakin has a pretty great time in this au. His family are all together and safe and within reach. His wife isn't around, but toddler brain means he doesn't have the Romance Drive, so that's not as bad as it could be It could be significantly worse.

@atagotiak asked: Does Anakin get annoyed about being called cute? - To which I say, He bites the first few times but Shmi tells him that's Naughty so he stops. - Babies are cute so you packbond with them before they’re annoying, Anakin is cute as a self defense mechanism - He’s extra annoying so he needs to be extra cute

You know how you need to keep an eye on toddlers so they don't, like, fall down the stairs or put something toxic in their mouth? - They need to keep an eye on Anakin specifically so he doesn't rewire the ship they're in while they're in hyperspace. - He has less self control on account of being smol. He still has all the mechanical knowledge! Just less comprehension of y’know, consequences.

Anakin, with a sippy cup: This is demeaning. Ahsoka: Your hands don't work great enough to avoid accidents yet. Anakin: It's still embarrassing.

General Kenobi can't just kill Maul, not when Maul is baby right now (sixteen, which is baby enough) so he just. Kinda. Kidnaps a baby Sith. (It's fine. He's fine.)

General Kenobi (not to be confused with Padawan Kenobi) decides to declare Maul his new padawan because someone has to deal with this teenager, and Plo already claimed the rest of Ahsoka's training. And Anakin's three, so.

"What do we do with Maul?" "Eh, I can handle him. I dealt with teenage Anakin getting arrested for illegal pod-racing twice a month, I can work with this."

Maul bites, but only slightly more often than Anakin, it's fine

Ahsoka definitely bullies Maul whenever possible

Consider: Rex holding very still because Anakin wanted to be tall, so he climbed Rex. Being unexpectedly climbed is better than being unexpectedly yeeted. It's still extremely nerve-wracking. - Cody is perfectly capable of running around with a backpacking toddler General, but Rex freezes like a statue. - Ahsoka finds this hilarious

You know how little kids like to be thrown around and swung in circles and stuff like that? This must get even more ridiculous with force users. Can throw a child real high and catch them safely. - Rex panics whenever Ahsoka throws her chibified Master

Literally everyone except Rex loves being yeeted. Even Maul can appreciate a good tactical yeet no shut up he's not having fun this is TRAINING - Rex is Suffering - Cody, a very Tired Dad, deserves to mock his vod'ika a little, as stress relief - Rex, a certified Little Brother, shoves Cody off something tall. Jokes on him, Cody thinks freefall is fun too.

Tia asked: So the people who didn’t exist yet got flung bodily back in time and Anakin did the mental time travel. Why did Obi-Wan not become Padawan Kenobi? (I mean “because I want it that way” is def a good enough answer I’m just wondering if there’s any reason.) - Which, well, it really was mostly "I want to" but here's two options, both of which come down to Blame Daughter and Father. 1. They figured a responsible adult Jedi Master was needed to convince people. 2. Nobody was supposed to get de-aged but Daughter figured they needed to make Anakin less liable to kill things for a few years. - Also IDK the Force God-Manifestations also took away any risk of rapid aging and early death from the clones because uhhhhhhhhhhh I said so

Rex and Ahsoka are fumbling their way through a relationship where ages are just really confusing and awkward, so they're keeping it to just kisses and cuddles for a bit.

Cody is so tired he doesn't even realize anyone's hitting on him until it's been three years of co-parenting with Shmi and his General. - Somehow Anakin knows Cody is in a relationship before Cody does. Cody has never been so embarrassed. - How did he manage to be less observant than Skywalker? -- it was sabotage; all his brain cells were taken up in managing said Skywalker -- Because Skywalker was up at three in the morning whacking a training droid with a stick so he didn't have the energy for Relationships

Also Shmi's come-ons are super subtle, while the General's are... well, Cody's gotten very used to ignoring anything ambiguous on that end because fraternization rules, and also because Obi-Wan flirts a lot with everyone. So.

Please imagine Cody and General Kenobi walking around with Anakin tucked into a toddler sling while they do whatever work they've ended up with at the Temple. - Yes, Cody is helping the Jedi figure out the best plan of attack to take down this slave ring because his grasp on tactics is phenomenal and he knows how to deploy people at greatest efficiency, but also he's got a nosy toddler on his hip who keeps offering his own insane-but-competent ideas. - General Kenobi ends up with a Council Seat just on account of, like, being the kind of person he is. As often as not, he's got Anakin tucked into his robes, chewing on the ear of a stuffed tooka or something.

IDK what Shmi's doing but apparently Legends had it that some of the administrative and support positions in the Temple were held by non-Jedi civilians? So probably something like that.

GENERAL KENOBI LECTURING PADAWAN MAUL WHILE ANAKIN'S BALANCED ON HIS HIP AND GLARING AT MAUL FOR STEALING HIS DAD

General Kenobi: Ahsoka's babysitting. Anakin: I'm her master, I don't need babysitting, this is-- General Kenobi: Fine, then you need supervision, so that you don't blow up a training salle again. Anakin: And you think Ahsoka would stop me? General Kenobi, eye twitching: Fine, I'm leaving you with Plo.

Even if he’s mentally an adult Anakin always needs supervision Look at canon! Anakin was left without supervision for like two days and he became a Sith

Quinlan gets distracted by how attractive General Kenobi is and tells Obi-Wan "dude, you're gonna be so hot once you can get rid of the stupid haircut" and Obi-Wan pushes him into the nearest pond.

They end up with this weird "Uncle Jango" situation (uncle to Anakin, via weird brotherhood-ish to Cody) because Rex and Cody are just like "Uhhhhhhhhh yeah okay" about him eventually, and Jango just like. Drops by. Trying to Earn Affection Of Blood Kin by bringing weird gifts for them and their (ugh) Jedi.

"Okay, Rex'ika, I stopped by Shili--" "What?" "--and apparently this is a delicacy there, so just... your girlfriend will like it." "She's not my girlfriend." "..." "Okay, I can't call her my girlfriend. Jedi have rules about that sort of thing, and--" "This will make your Jedi happy, probably. Just take it, kid."

Baby Anakin got his arm back but for some inexplicable reason still has The Eye Scar. He matches Buir.

#disaster lineage #Anakin Skywalker #CodyWan #Commander Cody #Obi Wan Kenobi #Ahsoka Tano #Captain Rex #Shmi Skywalker #Maul #Darth Maul #Rexsoka #time travel #de aging #baby characters #Quinlan Vos #Phoenix Posts #Commander Buir

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babyblue0t7 · 1 year ago

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How about Israel ‘accidentally’ killed three of the Israeli hostages? They were holding white flags and half-naked and got shot on sight as they were mistaken for Palestinians. They don’t care about their own people. Anyone who supports Palestine within Israel is sent death threats and silenced.

How about Israel ruining countries like Lebanon and Syria through the use of phosphorus?

How about Palestinians trying everything they could such as ceasefires and treaties? Only for Israel to ask for a better deal, which obviously Palestine is going o say no. And for treaties, Israel has been the ones to break it right away.

How about the difference of the state of Israeli hostages and Palestinian hostages? Israeli hostages were taken care of and cleaned. Most of the Palestine hostages were teenagers with trauma and broken body parts. They were ‘prisoners’ from a decade ago. Their only crime being that they threw a stone at a tank that was targeting them. Or many were just of Palestinian heritage and that was enough for them to be arrested. How about the 21-year-old, who was terrified of his family, because he suffered head trauma from the continuous beatings throughout the years. He forgot who his family was. He locked himself in his room scared that he’ll get beat for doing the simplest thing like eating (which they got punished for because they don’t deserve it). That is basic human rights.

How about all the Palestinian women who were raped throughout the decades before Hamas’ attack?

How about the sexual humiliation of all Palestinians by removing their clothes and if they are too slow shooting them? When their clothes are off, sodomosing them by attempting to place a long pole up their anuses.

Many of these people are not Hamas.

Also, Israel bombed the Al-Shifa Hospital (amongst many others) but this one is significant because they blew it up because apparently it has tunnels underneath and Hamas was hiding there. Well, guess what? It’s near the sea levels meaning that the tunnels would have to be shallow and even then no human could live underneath the hospital. Maybe condemn the Arabic days of the week. Apparently, those are the names of Hamas members.

How about IDF taking pictures of a room before they wreck it and then after they wreck it to act like Hamas bombed them? They control what goes in and out of the place so if anyone were to give bombs and rockets to Hamas, it would have to be them.

How about the fact that the Palestinians in Gaza are going to starve to death because aquifers and such are going to be ruined by Israel putting poisonous toxins in the water? So plants and crops and food cannot grow.

42 hospitals for almost 2 million people. And each one is getting bombed. No anaesthetic - like the father who had to chop his own son’s leg off but he ended up dying due to the lack of pack. Mother’s having to give death certificates for their children before birth certificates. Are you telling me that all 50+% of the Palestinian deaths (who are children btw) are responsible for hiding Hamas? Innocent children who have no idea of the way the world works. There are lots of 0-year-old’s who have been killed.

Imagine the trauma these people will have even after Israel stops it’s occupation over Palestine.

The difference between the white Israeli women who cries crocodiles tears in the luxury hotel room with her husband (who came back from killing other mothers and children) and her newborn next to her compared to the mothers in Palestine who are holding the dead bodies of their children. Some can’t even hold them, like the dad who held the head of his kid and the head split open. The parents who had to collect the mush of their children in plastic bags. Sure you can blame and condemn Hamas. But little children are not Hamas and should not face the consequences.

The real terrorists are Israel. They’ve been terrorising other countries. They make sure that black women can’t have children by injecting them with birth control. They are inherent racists. They destroy the land they claim they are from. If it really was your land you would not be destroying thousands of years of culture and architecture and the ancient trees that take years to grow (more than our entire lives).

We have asked for a ceasefire. USA was one the countries out of 15 who said no. Even though majority said yes, why do their opinion control the media? Oh yeah, because they send off money to these corrupt people through failing their people. Instead of spending that money on helping their own country they want to help genocide by helping countries like Israel so that it can get them more support? More power? More money?

Most of the world is against the IDF and the government of Israel. Not the inhabitants of Israel (unless they are complicit) such as the teachers teaching young children that Arabs should all die (they consider Palestinians as Arabs - claiming they are not from that land) or should be slaves to them. What is the backwards thinking going on?

They (the extremists) think that non-Jews are animals so by that logic they do not care if anyone who isn’t Jew is to die. They see it as a sport. They don’t feel guilt over it.

The government literally called those who are Israel ‘people of light’ and Palestinians ‘people of darkness’. If you try to tell me that isn’t racist then maybe you should reevaluate your whole idea of terrorism and discrimination.

Tell me why you support Israel other than Hamas and October 7th. Hamas didn’t exist in the late 1940s or the 1950s or the 1960s or the early 1970s.

They just want to kill all of Palestine as they have been trying to do subtly over the last 7 decades. That is ethnic cleansing and targeting. That is terrorism.

the first ever mosque in gaza, built over 600 years ago, was destroyed on friday

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ceterisparibus116 · 3 years ago

Note

What do you admire most about Matt Murdock?

I LOVE THIS ASK.

Everything.

Jk.

Selflessness

First and foremost, I love Matt because of his selflessness. He is more selfless by leaps and bounds than any other character in the show. He is so determined to help others that he has committed both his day job and his “night job” to seeking out and aiding people in need. He frames almost every decision not by the question of “How can I make it through the day?” or “What will make me happy/comfortable?” but by the question of, “What will help other people?” And he’s unapologetic about it. I can hardly express how much I love the moments when someone like Claire or Foggy or Karen will lecture him about what he does, and he maintains that as long as people need help, he will still be helping them.

Of course, he can take this too far, bypassing selflessness and becoming self-sacrificial. That’s not good, and ironically makes him less able to help others as he self-destructs. I also think that Matt can be self-absorbed despite being selfless: for example, I think his belief that everything that happens is somehow his fault is a distorted version of pride, and I think his extreme guilt and self-loathing are also signs that he is actually too focused on himself.

But overall, I think he is incredibly selfless, and this is the #1 reason why I have said I aspire to be Matt (or, really, Matt with therapy and a less tragic backstory).

Intelligence

I LOVE AN INTELLIGENT HERO. Sure, the show does some weird stuff with the law, but the overall message is that Matt is a character who values intelligence. He was a nerd as a kid, and he was still a nerd in law school, and after graduation he is still – guess what – a nerd. But (and this ties back to selflessness) he doesn’t use his intelligence for his own personal gain, and certainly never to take advantage for others. He couldn’t stomach working at Landman & Zach and when Foggy was making six figures working for Jeri Hogarth of all people (Foggy…my man…WHYYY), Matt was winning million-dollar cases and refusing any payment. (Not saying that it’s realistic for Matt to actually take only pro bono cases, but my point is that although Matt is more than able to use his intelligence to get rich, he instead insists on using his intelligence to help others in need.)

This is also admirable because so many people have problems that can’t be resolved by just beating someone up. When Elena was getting forced out of her apartment, Daredevil couldn’t stop that. When Frank Castle allowed himself to be arrested, Daredevil couldn’t do anything to protect him from the death penalty. When Aaron James was injured, Daredevil couldn’t get his parents any money or hold the company responsible for his injuries accountable. In real life, people have problems that are just so much more complicated than physical harm (although that is real too). I love that Matt uses his intelligence to tackle these problems.

Faith in God

I know the show played up Matt’s faith more than the comics did, but I appreciate it. For one thing, it’s just a good writing choice, since Matt might be a little disconcerting as a character if the show didn’t linger on his feelings regarding the violence he doles out, and Father Lantom is the most supportive character for him to talk to about it. I also appreciate it because it’s one of the few media sources that discusses religion with nuance.

For Matt specifically, I adore the fact that his faith is real to him. It’s not just something he participates in; it actually impacts how he lives and the choices he makes and how he sees himself. And yes, to some extent, this is negative: his grandmother telling him he has the devil inside clearly cut deep, and he struggles to understand the concept of forgiveness (which to be fair could be primarily the result of his personality, but could also be the result of an over-emphasis on the doctrines of sin and hell without discussing grace, love, and mercy). However, his faith also affects his view of himself in a very positive sense. It gives him a sense of purpose and a belief that life actually, you know…has meaning.

Similarly, I love how he wrestles with his faith. Too often, Christian-ish religious types tend to act like doubt and questions are sinful. I find that not only unbiblical, but straight up absurd. If you are told that God is loving, powerful, and aware of what’s going on in the world, there is no way you can proceed through life without serious questions unless: a) you are blissfully ignorant of the struggles in this world; or b) you simply don’t care about how your beliefs play out in the real world. It is absolutely impossible for Matt specifically to be ignorant of the struggles in this world, so the fact that he has questions and objections about how his faith actually works out in practice shows that his faith actually matters to him. Again, it shows that his faith is real. And apparently, it was real from a young age, since even as a kid he’s shown to be challenging his teachers and challenging Father Lantom and even questioning God. It’s honest. It’s real. I love it.

Faith in People

Related to the above point, but worthy of its own analysis: Matt’s faith in people is beautiful to me. Maybe it’s just that Luke “there’s still good in you” Skywalker was my childhood hero (maybe you can relate, @unstableskywalker?), maybe it’s the fact that my own faith teaches that no one is beyond the reach of grace, but I can’t say enough how much I love Matt’s stubborn insistence that everyone deserves a chance at redemption. And I love how the show explores this from different angles. It pops up in his refusal to kill, obviously, but you also see it portrayed in great detail in his interactions with Elektra. Obviously those interactions are colored by a lot of factors, but one of them is certainly his refusal to write her off as “evil.”

For this discussion, let’s assume that the act of killing really is evil. Let’s also assume that because Elektra apparently enjoys the act of killing, there is something broken about her. (In other words, she doesn’t just need to be taught not to do these bad acts; her very desires related to those acts need to change.) For most people, someone like Elektra is scary and irredeemable—unless maybe they have a very, very bad Tragic Backstory to justify it, or unless they take active steps to “get better.”

But Matt isn’t most people. Matt doesn’t need to know her Tragic Backstory to believe redemption is still available to her, and he doesn’t need her to prove anything to him. Yeah, he has moments of pushing her away (like after she kills the teenaged assassin), but overall, Matt’s relationship with Elektra is marked by his belief that she can find redemption not because of anything about her, but just because that’s what he believes. I love that so much.

(I do wish the show had touched on this more with Dex, actually; I think realistically, Matt—at least a Matt who’s in a healthier place than he was in Season 3—would be merciful towards Dex even as he tries to keep Dex from hurting people. Instead of writing Dex off as evil, Matt would see that Dex, too, is capable of redemption, and Matt’s awareness from the tapes of Dex’s continual desire to find guidance and be good would motivate Matt to help Dex, not unlike how he was determined to help Elektra.)

Kindness

I was trying to think of a word that captures the general idea of “I love the fact that Matt refuses to insulate himself from the people he’s trying to help” and couldn’t think of a better word than kindness. It’s possible to be selfless without being accessible, but Matt isn’t like that. Matt’s not secluded in the Avengers Tower. Every night, he’s out on the streets, helping people who actually come to know him. And as a lawyer, he’s deeply involved in the nitty gritty messes of his clients' lives. I wish Matt didn’t insulate himself so much from his friends, of course, but I love that he gets in among the crowds of people in need - even though that can be dangerous and stressful and just plain exhausting. Matt does it because he’s not just selfless, he’s kind.

Determination

He always gets back up, no matter what life throws at him. Do I wish he’d take some time to heal his injuries and sort out his mental health? For sure. But he’s not going to retreat or give up.

Similarly, he’s not going to take the easy path. He went to school for an extra three years at enormous personal expense to become a lawyer. (And again, he did it not to get rich, but to help people.) He refused to stay at Landman & Zach, which would have led to a more comfortable life by far. He learned an entire language just so he could help people who don’t know English. He kept training for years after Stick left not so he could show off his fancy moves, but so he could help people. (No, Foggy, it wasn’t about Matt wanting an excuse to hit something, it was about protecting a little girl being abused.) Matt is absolutely dedicated to making himself as effective as possible so he can help as many people as possible. Does he take it too far and sometimes consider himself nothing more than a soldier? Tragically, yes. But that determination is still so admirable.

Vulnerability

Okay, obviously Matt struggles with this, he really does. But the moments when he chooses vulnerability are so impactful. I’m thinking particularly of Matt in Season 3 and his apology to Foggy and Karen. How many times have we seen a superhero apologize to their friends—and apologize well? Matt never once shifted the blame or attempted to justify himself. He simply took responsibility. There are other moments as well, although those usually ended sadly…but the very fact that those other moments ended sadly makes his choice to be vulnerable in his apology even more powerful.

There are so many other things I admire about Matt (including but not limited to his physique because…well…) but these get to the core of it, I think. Thank you so much for the lovely ask!

#matt murdock #daredevil #asks #ask me things i'm friendly #long post #meta

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